Mustard is illegal where I Iive. Possession, and especially consumption, of mustard carries the possible maximum penalty of death. All because of, what we now call, The Mustard Wars of 1473. It started as a simple trade dispute between some merchants that never really got resolved. The dispute festered for years till another slight, imagined or real no one really knows, occurred and all out war broke out. While there is much to be said about the war and warfare itself not much survived as far as why it really started. But in the end mustard was made illegal and has stayed so for centuries.
Oddly, a very similar war was fought in Mexico over mayonnaise almost four centuries later. I guess it was more a series of skirmishes than a war, but it was a fairly important conflict.
There were obviously other geopolitical factors at play, but it was largely symbolic resistance to European/ white influence on a country with massively changing demographics. In the spring of 1856, indigenous forces tried to block a large shipment of goods coming out of Spain. The freight consisted of a lot of different goods intended to provide a more "European" lifestyle for the elites in Mexico. While only a small portion of it was actually mayonnaise, it turned into a bit of a rallying cry for a movement trying to resist the influx of white oppressors who were turning into the ruling class.
Eventually the resistance forces captured an artillery battery and were able to shell the incoming freight ship, sinking it before it got to the harbor. While it obviously didn't stop the European influence, it became a folk legend and a rallying cry for Mexican pride. To this day, you can still see "Sinko de Mayo" celebrations commemorating the event.
I'm saving this comment. Brilliant synopsis of the great mustard wars. Let's hope AI doesn't learn from this. 😉
I'm not a huge mustard fan, so imagine my surprise when I tried mustard soup in the Netherlands and it was amazing. The mill where they ground the mustard was right next door. It was like a cheese soup almost. Creamy, tart, spicy. So good. All of the Dutch mustard was, including with the bitterballen.
Not a mustard fan, tries mustard soup anyway, discovers something wonderful. This may be a trivial example, but it’s the key to living life!
Saw the post, found a recipe, went out and got stuff... an hour later...
Recipe calls for 1/2 pound of bacon, but bacon comes in 12 ounce packages and I've never gone "Man, why did I make so much bacon?"
Chop it up, fry it up in some good olive oil, about 10 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain.
Recipe calls for 1 white onion and 2 leeks, but we have a ready supply of sweet onions so I used one of those.
Chopped up, cooked in the bacon grease about 5 minutes or until translucent.
3 cloves of chopped garlic. Mine were small so I popped in 5 cloves. Cooked another minute or so.
Add in three tablespoons of the finest stone ground mustard. I used Maille but if you have the time and the know how you can make your own
3 cups of broth, vegetable or chicken, I used chicken.
1 cup of heavy cream.
Cook that up for about 10 minutes or so.
Mix up a slurry of 2 tablespoons cold water to 1 tablespoon corn starch, stir in as a thickener.
Simmer until it's as thick as you like.
If you like chunky soup, top with bacon and serve.
If you don't like chunky soup, use a blender or immersion blender to break up the onions, leeks and garlic, top with bacon and serve.
For something called "mustard soup" it's INCREDIBLY filling. The taste is fantastic, but neither my wife nor myself could finish our bowls, we're going to have the rest for lunch today.
Part of that may have been that I also whipped up some English muffins for dipping.
I'll say this, Europeans know how to make a soup base that can accommodate any number of ingredients. Some of the best soup I've ever had was just from a big vat of pea soup at a university dining hall in Brussels.
Thought I’d ask an interesting question. :P
But I do use it for sandwiches and salads.
Chicken salad usually, but I’ve made tuna salad with it as well although not sure if that works.
I put it on sandwiches, pork chops, hot dogs, German sausage, there's too many to think of lol
By fridge-light at 2am, spread on a soft corn tortilla with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
Why, how everyone eats it of course. I open a fresh bottle and stick a straw into it and go to town. How do you eat mustard op?
To answer seriously, mustard is either a condiment on a sandwich or could be a dipping sauce for meat, usually ham. It can be added into a vinnegrete salad dressing too.
Of course everyone knows about deviled eggs, but mustard as a flavor paste and an adhesive for any number of coatings used to be very popular. Older cookbooks reference it principally for reheating leftover meats.
I smear it all over my lower body where my tongue can reach, then lick it off, yelling "Who's your daddy now, bitch!" at the top of my lungs. B-52's "Love Shack" must be playing in the background.
Copiously. I have yellow, dijon, whole grain, dill pickle, and horseradish mustard in the fridge. Put it on sandwiches, add it to mac and cheese, dip stuff in it, whatever.
-
Buy it from the Polish deli down the street, usually whole grain with some white wine in the ingredients (they label this French style). Spread it on some hearty bread together with Winiary majonez and meat of choice (pastrami is great, so is kielbasa). Toast some swiss or muenster cheese on there if I've got it. Polish pickles on the side, or maybe on the sandwich.
-
Get honey mustard packets from Arby's (because stupid Marzetti apparently doesn't sell bottles anymore) and dip chicken fingers/nuggets in it.
What I should do: Join the mustard of the month club at the local cheese shop. They always have interesting varieties like curry mustard or bourbon mustard.
I often make some salad dressing with mustard: crushed garlic, chopped garden thyme, vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, MSG, honey/brown sugar. Put all of them into a bottle and shake it well, let it rest for two days.
I also add a bit of mustard to the potato mash, or as a condiment over hot dogs and wieners.
Mustard greens are also delicious as frittata filling. Just make sure to wilt them beforehand, otherwise you'll get scrambled eggs instead.
(I have no idea on what people use mustard for, where I live. I guess over French fries and hot dogs?)
Depends on the mustard. Dijon for salad dressings, American for hot dogs and English for steak and kangaroo.
Spicy. I guess it's similar to wasabi (some cheaper brands of both are even basically the same thing made with horseradish). You don't need much, don't squirt it on like American mustard. But it goes really well with red meat, or on a ham sandwich.
Hm... I asked because I thought I hadn't had any, but now I wonder if that's what the kind of super hot mustard my dad always made from a powder was. It does have a sort of horseradish-y spice to it. Burns the nostrils like hell.
I LOVE keens! toasted some dinner rolls with mayo and keens yesterday for pulled pork sliders 👩🍳🤌
i need to try the dry version sometime