Friday, January 2, 2015

Hello, it’s Chef Dijon, from Foodwishes.com!

Instead of New Year’s resolutions like, “lose weight,” or “learn French,” I decided to knock a few items off the video recipe bucket list, and “making Dijon mustard” was first on the agenda. I’m not sure if I’ve ever kept a New Year’s resolution before, so this is a new and strange experience. It’s also great on hot dogs.

This recipe comes from my friend, and About.com’s Food Preservation Expert, Sean Timberlake. Since I’m a newbie, I wanted to use a recipe from someone I could harass in person if need be. That won’t be necessary, as this came out pretty well for a first attempt.

By the way, Sean says you can start to taste the final flavor profile after three days, but I recommended a week in the video, just to play it safe. It really does take some time for the rawness to wear off, and that familiar mustard flavor to emerge.

In hindsight, I should have used a real blender to grind the soaked seeds. I opted for the hand-held for a better shot, but I don’t think I extracted as much flavor as I could have. I really enjoyed the texture, but I think I will try another batch in the blender, and go for something smoother, and even stronger.

As with all condiments, you can and should adjust this to your taste. This style of Dijon doesn’t contain any sweetener, but a little sugar or honey are common additions these days. You can also adjust the acidity, and I did add a little more than called for, since I tend to like things on the sharper side.

Speaking of acidity, I just canned mine using the hot mustard to seal the sterilized jars. This is not a product that will spoil easily, but for any kind of long-term storage, you’ll want to can in a hot water bath (see instructions here).

So, if you were looking for a totally doable, and completely edible New Year’s resolution, then this might be for you. Thank you to Mr. Timberlake for sharing his recipe, and I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Recipe adapted ever so slightly from this one by Sean Timberlake/About.com.
Ingredients for four (8-ounce) jars of Dijon:
1 1/2 cups white wine
2/3 cup white wine vinegar (original recipe calls for 1/2 cup)
1 cup water, plus more as needed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup yellow mustard seeds
1/4 cup dry mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

30 comments:

Unknown said...

If this takes a week to make, didn't you make it in 2014, ie. last year?

Chef John said...

It's called creative license! ;) Yes started in 2014, but finished and edited in 15, so it's legal.

Unknown said...

Would the shelf life be 3 or 6 months?

Thank you for a wonderful and informative site.

Unknown said...

Every single one of your videos leaves me with a smile.

Fantastic addition to the blog. I hail from Chicago, and the lore of Chicago is that there are only 7 acceptable ingredients on a hot dog: mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato wedges, sport peppers and celery salt.

Definitely gonna give this a try.

Much love and thanks!

Uncommonsense said...

32 ounces seems like a bit much to start with just to see if I would like it. Is it advisable to reduce the recipe by 50% - 75% for the first run?

Pearson Report said...

Yum, thanks for sharing.
I'm a mustard freak - love, love, love mustards. Never made one though. I guess there's a first for everything.

Cheers, Jenny

NBFoodie said...

I can't wait to try this! I'm a mustard addict. But, as it make a lot, I second the "what's the shelf life" question.

OAKLAND FOREST CLUB CONDO OAKLAND PARK, FL said...

Sounds like you have a new category to add: Canning

Julia said...

Super recipe, Chef John!
Recently I discovered that ordinary blenders will accept ordinary mason jars -- deliberately so, and early blenders came with one -- so you could blend things (like mustard which sometimes you do not want to cook) in the jars and stick them in the fridge, with a lot less cleanup.
Did you know that? Do your myriad fans know that? Does this mean anything at all? I don't have the culinary skills to work this out, but you do....
Happy new year

Evan Davis said...

Love this video! I love Dijon mustard, I'm going to try this with a bunch of tarragon added and make tarragon mustard!

Unknown said...

For a smoother mustard try grinding the seeds first in a spice grinder before soaking, also use the onions they will give more creaminess

genuwineu2 said...

You are my absolute favorite TV chef. You have a wonderful genuine style and you are a gifted teacher.
Thank you for your humor as well. We sometimes forget that laughter is a magical ingredient to all thinks created with love and attention!

tilen21 said...

Can you use red wine vingear instead of white?

Pyrofish said...

One of my favorite uses for Dijon mustard is in tuna fish. I replace half the mayo with the dijon mustard and it makes for a nice tangy tuna. I'm excited to give this a try, I'm a mustard fan. Mmmhhhm, biscuits and mustard mmmhhm.

Azi said...

Great idea Chef, two questions:
1. Can you give ball-park quantities for the two later water additions? (see reason below)
2. Would using a wooden skewer will negate the canning effort? You can't sterilize wood in hot water at home...

Btw, I got 3 8oz jars in my first attempt this weekend. Can't wait to taste it next week.
AG

ghostess said...

Dear Chef John,

I am writing to say that I just found your videos (via AllRecipes) and I LOVE them! I watched a bunch of them in a row just because they were so enjoyable. I especially like that you explain WHY you are doing certain things or what the outcome will be if you do it a little differently. Thanks to you, I'm starting to understand the underlying logic of cooking, which I had no idea about before.

And the humor that you bring to your videos is very welcome -- you make cooking seem accessible and fun.

This week I'm going to try your Braised Lamb Shanks and Cornish Pasties. These mustard jars might make for nice Christmas gifts next year!

Birks said...

AWESOME! Any time CJ adds to his condiment collection I'm in.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hi Chef John,
Can't wait to try. I am going to experiment and add some fresh horse radish to 1/2 the batch. Not sure what stage I should do that though... any advice?
(and yes - I am the colonel of my mustard!)

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John! Does the mustard have to be refrigerated before opening or can it be stored in a cool dry place like most canned foods?

Chef John said...

if the jars were sterile and you got a good vacuum when they cooled, then should be ok.

Anonymous said...

Instead of blending it further you should try not cooking it or actually less vinegar. I am not sure what you mean by a "sharper" flavor but I imagine you mean hotter. From Wikipedia:

"The temperature of the water and concentration of acids such as vinegar also determine the strength of a prepared mustard; hotter liquids and stronger acids denature the enzymes that make the strength-producing compounds. Thus, "hot" mustard is made with cold water, whereas using hot water produces a milder condiment, all else being equal.[21]"

The quote comes from "the Joy of Cooking". I don't have the book so I can't double check it.

I am trying the recipe as we speak. Instead of ground mustard I only had seeds so I took 1/4 cup to the mortar and cracked it. Also used a mixture of brown and yellow. Second day in the brine and it smells amazing. The smell is strong and sharp. Will blend it tomorrow morning and will leave it uncooked. To avoid spoilage (which I think is unlikely) I will simply freeze half.

LIZZY said...

Hello, after 6 days my mustard smells great, but tastes very much like vinegar. Do you think it has to sit longer? I did not have small jars so I used a big one. Thank you!

doraima29 said...

Thank you. Chef John.... I have been searching a Dijon Mustard recipe. Yet, this is probably the one that i am looking for. Awesome, this will be part of my DIY kitchen project list.

Unknown said...

Can you substitute or omit the wine? I'm very allergic.

Unknown said...

Can you talk about using verjuice instead of vinegar?

Jmdfromqc said...

Done! Waiting for monday to arrive.... I think I'll have to make creton to go with this.
Merci Chef!

Unknown said...

Dear Chef John :)

I hope you can help me...

I did this recipe few months ago...and it worked perfectly!

Now...I am trying to make it again...and I get stuck at the step where the mustard seeds are suppose to suck all the liquid...but they don't!

I repeated 2 times the experiment...and same result...so weird...the seeds stay small and do not soak the liquid...even after 2 days...I even tried almost a week...nothing...the liquid stays liquid...seeds are same small size...and it does not become creamy like yours...

Any idea?

Unknown said...

Me again ;)

I actually when on with my new "technique" and continued as planned in the recipe...I crushed all and cooked it 10 minutes as indicated...waited a week...and the result is not bad at all...I marinated chicken legs in the mustard and then cooked them...it was DELICIOUS :)))

THank You ;)

Unknown said...

Hello. What is the purpose of dry mustard? Will it work without it?