Food History

It’s far too long since I gave you anything about a specific ingredient. And wasn’t the last time silphium, which was enormously depressing because we can’t actually taste the stuff? Today’s spice is mustard which is at the opposite end of the extinction scale to silphium.

The history of mustard is incredibly rich and varied and amazing and wonderful. The leaf is edible and the seeds are delightful. It bugs me that it is often under-rated in terms of its importance in European food history. It grows just about anywhere, so it wasn’t nearly as much subject to taxes and other importation problems as, say pepper, so it isn’t recorded as much. But when you look at recipes, mustard has probably been in continual use in Europe for at least two thousand years and a lot longer in India and elsewhere.

Mustard as the European condiment (think Dijon, Maille, Meaux, German, English - Keen’s and Colman’s - Bordeaux, American styles) is much more recent. Maille developed its characteristic style in the eighteenth century, which is about when Keen’s mustard began its occupation of English kitchens and Colman’s established their modern formula in 1814. Dijon mustard is a bit more recent, despite the fact that mustard has been eaten in Dijon almost forever. What makes the difference is what type of mustard seed (e.g. white, black, brown), how it’s processed, what it’s mixed with. There’s a good summary of this here. While you’re reading just note how important mustard is. We still eat more of it than almost any other spice. Common as mud, and just as important.

This site has a run-down on how the different types of prepared mustard vary, some of the alternative names for it, and it has a pretty picture of the plant. Look at the picture and you will see something very strange. Even if you’ve never seen a mustard plant in your life, it looks familiar. This is because it is familiar. Mustard is a relative of an awful lot of the plants we eat. Cabbages, for instance. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Even radishes. Mustard is common, but the brassica genus is one of the staffs of life. The varieties we have eaten change over time with breeding and fashion, but leafy brassica greens are a staple of European, North African and American food history. I haven’t ever looked into natives from Australia, to see if any are brassica, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.

My favourite source of mustard oil (awesome in tomato kasaundi) is from Cootamundra Railway Station - I used to hop off the train on the way back form seeing my family in Melbourne, buy myself mustard oil from the station shop, then get straight on the bus to Canberra. Not an important part of the history of mustard, but mustard is one of the oilseed crops Australia produces in abundances and exports, so it’s worth noting you can buy it very fresh and delightfully tangy at Cootamundra Railway Station.

We tend to neglect the history of mustard as it lacks a sense of the exotic and romantic. I suspect that pepper stole mustard’s glory. This means that when someone gets particularly enthusiastic about it, I want to cheer them on. Instead, though, I’ll give you a mustard recipe. All the amounts are to taste.

Dhal

mustard seeds
cumin seeds
salt
red lentils
onions (1 onion to 1 cup lentil is a good proportion to start with)
canola oil
water

Cut your onions finely. Fry them on high heat until translucent. Add the mustard and cumin and keep frying until the seeds start to pop. Add the lentils and the water and turn the heat down. Add salt to taste when the lentils start to soften. Cook until the lentils are soft and mushy and most of the water is absorbed (add more water during cooking if necessary).