The Colman’s mustard people were kind enough to send me a sample of their mustard powder. This is some seriously spicy mustard – the jar of prepared mustard made my nose hair stand at attention. I love it.
They also sent a tin of mustard powder. Time to make my son’s favorite condiment – sweet hot mustard.
And put him to work making it. The mustard’s not going to whisk itself, is it?
After some googling, I found out the recipe was simple – powdered mustard, vinegar, sugar, and eggs.
Eggs in mustard? Visions of salmonella danced through my head. Is there enough vinegar to preserve it? I kept searching, and found that eggs are pasteurized instantly at 160°F. That’s also the temperature where eggs thicken, forming a custard. It works out beautifully – when the eggs are hot enough to thicken the mustard, they’re also safe to eat.
My next question was, what about storage? How long will this mustard last? Between the vinegar and the mustard powder, bacteria doesn’t stand a chance. The mustard will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator, and probably much longer.
This is an easy recipe. Whisk the ingredients, then heat gently until you reach 160°F. Some recipes cook the mustard in the microwave; others use a pot set over very low heat.
There is one tricky part…if the eggs overheat, the custard turns into scrambled eggs. That’s not good for mustard.
To be on the safe side, I cook the mustard in an improvised double boiler, using a pot with an inch of simmering water and a metal bowl. This evens out the heat, and as long as I kept whisking, the eggs were never in danger. Make sure the pot is deep enough that the water doesn’t touch the bowl – you want a gentle, even heat, not a hot spot where eggs can overcook.
Recipe: Homemade Sweet Hot Mustard
Adapted From: Adapted from: Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, Hirsheimer’s Hot & Sweet Mustard
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Equipment:
- 3 clean half-pint jars
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 ounces mustard powder
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt (a “pinch of salt”)
Directions
1. Whisk the ingredients
Crack the eggs into a wide heat safe bowl, and whisk until completely yellow. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients, one at a time, until smooth.
2. Gently cook the mustard
Fill a deep pot with 1 inch of water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Set the bowl with the whisked ingredients on top of the pot. Cook, whisking often, until the mustard thickens and reaches a temperature of 160°F, about 5 minutes. The mustard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
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3. Rest, then refrigerate
Pour the mustard into the half-pint jars. Let the mustard rest at room temperature for an hour, then screw on the lids and refrigerate. The mustard will last for a month or two in the refrigerator.
Notes
- This is fiery mustard if you try it right away. It starts with a sweet flavor, followed by a sinus clearing blast of heat. (Have you ever overdosed on wasabi at a sushi place? Yeah, it’s like that. Again, I love it.) Resting the mustard for an hour before refrigerating will tame that heat somewhat; if you want it milder, let it rest for two hours before refrigerating.
- This is the perfect condiment for your Easter ham…coming soon.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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Greetings from snowy Northwestern Ontario! I’ve made this same mustard for years now, and I cannot tolerate it more than a miniature drop with a dinner or on a sandwich. I make it for the family and friends, who are totally obsessed with it. And when it cooks, nasal problems will be cured, instantly! 🙂 My mom in Finland adds a little bit of cognac to hers… (So why does she buy such a big bottle?!) I’m afraid of getting sick from foods, and don’t keep leftovers long at all. But I was wondering, how long would this mustard be safe to eat, kept in the fridge, of course? Thank you (“kiitos” in Finn!) in advance for an answer. Back outside to do more shoveling…
SORRY… I had totally skipped the part in the article, where it said the mustard will last for a month, or even more in the fridge! There is a saying in Finn: “It’s the same head, in the winter and summer”… That will be my great excuse for not seeing that part: That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…
No worries – I’m glad you read the entire post!
Love this mustard! This is the second time I’ve made it and my family loves it so much, I’m giving jars of it away for Christmas. Thanks for sharing!
Great! I’m glad you enjoy it.
What about making large quantities of this mustard and canning it? Would you just place the cap on the jar while still hot?
Canning is tricky – don’t use this recipe for canning. See if you can find a tested recipe that is designed for canning. (Tested by a state extension or other group that makes sure canning recipes are safe.)
This is just the recipe I’d been looking for. Just like my moms, but after making this twice, I just found the heat too intense. Made my 3rd batch last weekend using only 3 oz of mustard powder, and it’s perfect. Even my wife uses it on her sandwiches now.
“4 ounces” of mustard powder? What would that be in tablespoons or teaspoons? Thank you.
I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I used a 4 ounce tin of Colman’s mustard.
Mike, thanks for the quick reply! The reason I asked was because I can get mustard powder in the bulk-bin aisle for literally one-tenth the cost of Colman in a can.
Anyway, I have one of those cheap weight scales. Those things are inaccurate unless you “prove” them with a weight of the similar weight of what you’re trying to measure. Most people don’t realize this, but five US quarters equal one once, so it was easy to make sure the right amount of powder was used 🙂
Made a batch, and it was good. Not sure it got to exactly 160 degrees, but then again, I’m not scared of salmonella. It used to be if you ordered a Caesar salad in a good restaurant, they’d crack that raw egg right in front of you.
Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome – glad you were able to figure out the weight!
This is the basic recipe. I add the juice of a lemon. Sometimes I add brandy, tequila, beer, grand marnier, soaked mustard seeds. I have added 1/2 cup honey and reduced the sugar. I have added 1/2 a bottle of prepared horseradish. There are endless possibilities. I have canned it and placed the jars in a boiling bath for 5 minutes and have had them last for 3 years. At that point the lids start to rust through. No one has even gotten sick from my 3 year old mustard.With my variations I have won the local county fair too many times and I’m now not allowed to enter mustard. On ham, after cooking, on steak, grilled cheese sandwiches, on chicken baked with Parmesan cheese on top, this stuff is just the best. It is NOT a wimp mustard. Not a Dijon, Not a worthless yellow, It is the BEST
Thanks for posting this, with some of the hints! I decided to make some of my grandmother’s mustard for the hot dogs this Fourth. Elsie passed 25 years ago, but I have custody of the recipe box! Like the amazing cook she was, only the ingredients and proportions were in the recipe; no directions on how hot to cook. In fact, if I hadn’t made it with her a few times, I wouldn’t have even known about the double boiler. lol
She always said to whisk no more than necessary, as over-whisking makes the mustard hotter, and that to let it rest at least 2 hours before refrigerating to let the flavors meld and settle. Now I know she was making it less hot for us “babies.”
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I used to make this sweet hot mustard for many years. I noticed this recipe didn’t require soaking mustard and vinegar overnight. That step is not necessary for this wonderful mustard. I’m glad I found dad cooks dinner recipe. Yum.
Is this recipe freezeable?
I don’t know – I’ve never tried to freeze it.
Can honey be substituted for the sugar?
I don’t know. I’m worried it will throw off the balance of the recipe that makes it shelf stable.