I know: it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Yes, folks, raise up your smartphones and sway with me: mustard is in the hizzouse. Today is National Mustard Day, celebrated (apparently) on the first Saturday of August each year. (Who said that August doesn’t have any holidays?) There is even a mustard museum, in Wisconsin, where National Mustard Day (the kids call it NMD, yo) is obviously big doins. Big enough for live accordion music from the Poupon U band, free hot dogs, something called “mustard custard” <shudder>, and its own T-shirt. It’s the big time, folks.
You might have noticed just a hint of mustard disdain; yes, I admit it freely: I hate mustard. I know my mustard-hating soul sista, Meg of Grow and Resist, will agree: mustard is condimenta non grata in my cooking. The Hubs, on the other hand, is a devoted mustardophile; if we lived closer to Wisconsin, I bet he’d be clamoring to hit up the museum and check out all the mustard happenings. But the thing is? I love the Hubs. And he loves mustard. So a-mustard making I will go! And have gone, many, many times. However, lest you think I am in the running for Best Wife Ever, let me share a little secret: mustard is dead easy.
At its simplest, it is a mix of ground mustard seed & water; yet a complex mustard can mix white, yellow, brown or black mustard, ground and whole, liquors, fruits, spices, chiles; the options go on and on. A small batch of mustard can be whipped up and stored in the fridge in minutes; a larger batch, with sufficient acid, can be processed in a water bath for long-term room temperature storage. So why not celebrate National Mustard Day by whipping up a mustard of your own creation? Here are a few of my mustard greatest hits to get your creative juices flowing.
Happy Mustard Day!
- Habanero Lime Chipotle
- Raisin D’Être
- Mission Fig & Port Wine
- Roasted Garlic & Lemon
- Fiery Habanero
- Winter Lager
- Cranberry Habanero
- Arugula
localkitchenblog.com 
Love it! I just finished a batch of apricot mustard – now I need to go buy some pretzels.
Viva La Mustard! I am in the “I can’t get enough mustard” camp, maybe even president! Thanks for the great mustard-recipe links. I LOVE LOVE LOVE making mustard, so off I go making your creations!
Soul sista- you know it! Evil mustard! Kudos to you for making it!
I’ve made a couple of your mustard recipes and shared with friends and family to universal acclaim. My father has requested that I bring him some mustard for Labour Day and I was wondering if you have any advice on incorporating peaches into mustard? I’m in Louisiana and the peaches are just amazing this year.
Hi Julia,
I think peach mustard with a bourbon or spiced rum would be wonderful; you could use the Mission Fig & Port Wine recipe as a guide, using 1 cup of crushed peaches in place of the figs, and your liquor of choice in place of the port wine. I might sub in 1/4 cup of brown mustard seed for a little bit since peaches are so sweet.
Other than that, almost any mustard recipe would likely be amenable to a half-cup of crushed peaches; I think a spicy mustard with Thai chiles, or smoky chipotle, would be a great foil for the sweet peach.
By exploration & chance we ended up at the Mustard Museum during one of our adventures a few years back! Such a joy and may I say, some fantastic tasting of the finest mustards around.