DIY: Making and Canning Your Own Dijon Mustard (Garlic Free)

This is one in a series of posts (believe it or not) that is going to build up to making your own home made BBQ sauce, but still making your own mustard, especially garlic free mustard, is actually easier than you might think.  You can actually make mustard with as little as just powered mustard combined with vinegar and even water and you just mix it up to the consistency you want, but I wanted something a bit fancier to start my "mustard making journey".  So, I went with this recipe.

So, let's do this thing!

Home Made Dijon Mustard
(Adapted from recipe found on Food in Jars.com)

Step 1:  Assemble the Ingredients.  Which are...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 and ½ cups white wine (ideally a white Burgundy, or a crisp Chablis or sauvignon blanc).  I used a good tasting white wine that I had bought myself for cooking wine a while back.
• ½ cup white wine vinegar (I used a combo of white wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar because that is what I had)
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 4 oz dry mustard powder (ground yellow mustard seed, about 1 cup + 2 tsp)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp salt
• Dash or two of Tabasco or cayenne pepper (optional)
 The recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic, but I just omitted that and went with 1 shallot instead.  It's better than nothing.

Step 2:  Do Your Math

I quadrupled the recipe above, so I made sure to write down math before I started.  I screw up a LOT less on a recipe when I do that.

Step 3:   Prepare canner, jars & lids.  

Make sure they are hot and waiting for YOU, not the other way around.

Step 4:  Combine wine, vinegar, onion and garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow aromatics to steep in the wine for 10 – 15 minutes.

Step 5:  Strain vegetables from the infused wine, pressing on solids to release all the juice. Return wine to the saucepan and add salt, honey and Tabasco, if using (I used a pinch of cayenne pepper instead).

Step 6:  Over medium heat, whisk in the mustard powder; continue whisking and heating until the mustard comes to a boil. Stirring constantly, boil mustard until it reduces to your desired thickness, remembering that it will thicken further upon cooling (I cooked mine for about 25 minutes, but I did make a LOT, so be sure to check yours). Taste and adjust seasonings.

Step 7:  Fill hot jars to right below the threads on the jar (I call that the 1/2 inch mark), tamping down the mustard into the jar (mine was still liquid enough that I just tapped the jar on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles and called it good). Thoroughly bubble by passing the handle of a wooden spoon along the edges and middle of the jar. Wipe rims, affix lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes in the hot water prior to removing from the canner.

Yields about 1 and 1/2 cups (like I said I quadrupled it)

OPTIONS

1. If storing in the fridge, you may omit the vinegar and simply use 2 cups of wine.
2. I read somewhere that most traditional Dijon mustard is made with both red & white wines.

Opinion of the mustard:  Well, I let mine sit for a few days before turning it into BBQ sauce base and tasted it and BOY does it have a wine-like taste to it.  It's not BAD or anything, but I think I need to experiment with recipes a bit more.  I want to definitely try my hand at making a chunky style mustard and also just make a plain yellow mustard (non-Dijon), but I'm waiting for my preserving books to come in the mail to research that one :).