I’ve read somewhere (FB? I don’t know) some posts warning Americans that they can’t use ‘English mustard’ (Colman’s) like they do American yellow mustard. Well, I have some prepared Colman’s and I thought I’d have cheese sandwiches on a couple of occasions. Being American, I used the ‘American-sized’ serving. I’ve never found Colman’s to be especially ‘hot’. On the sandwiches, it could have stood to be hotter.
I also have some Colman’s mustard powder that I use in recipes occasionally. Any tips on making something hotter than the prepared mustard?
When made from scratch/powder, let it mature a while before adding the vinegar, keep it less runny (more mustard powder to liquid ratio), and of course, the freshest the better. A lot of stuff, even Coleman’s seems to be well on it’s way to stale in it’s tin, which never helps with the heat.
And of course, you can always buy the “hot” mustard powder variants, for a nose searing experience when you want/need it. I buy from Penzeys most of the time.
Huh. I just do the recipe on the back of the tin which is equal parts mustard powder and cold water, wait 10-15 minutes, and it’s what I would consider fiery. I’ve never bothered with adding vinegar.
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever had any mustard that gets any “spicier” than that, unless it also contains capsaicin heat. That seems to be about as pungent as it gets.
That’s what I thought, too, until I tried the mustard from this one Sichuan place near me. I like hot food, and I’m especially tolerant of the sort of heat found in mustard, but this stuff… Well, I was able to eat it, but only very carefully.
But yeah, even if you like hot food, you probably don’t want to use Colman’s in the same way as you would use American yellow.
I’m eating Colman’s right now and it’s hitting my sinuses good. Even the Sichuan places I’ve been to have not been any more pungent than this stuff. It’s equal at best. But no mustard really is “hot” to me or hard to eat. It’s not like the superhots (1M+ scoville peppers) where I literally have to stop eating after a few bites because it’s painful. I grew up with grated horseradish (which I could eat by the spoonful) and strong Polish mustards. They’re merely a little bit irritating nasally if I don’t swallow them quite right. If you swallow right, you don’t get it all up in your nose. Swallow it wrong and it can hurt a little.
I’m not saying Sichuan mustard is hotter than Colman’s. I’ve had plenty of others that were just fine. I’m saying that the mustard at this one specific Sichuan place is hotter. I have no idea how they do it. Szechwan Garden, in Lakewood, OH, if you’re ever in the neighborhood.
Well, to be honest, I’ve never really empirically tested it. It was something I picked up from Alton Brown years ago (that the acid stopped the maturation of the sinus heat) but I’ve always placed more emphasis on the (to me) more key elements of making it with slightly less fluid than advised (which of course makes it punch harder) and to check freshness, because stale mustard powder absolute packs less punch.
I’m sure it does, but my Colman’s is several years old, and it’s still plenty punchy. (Huh. Looks like it has a date of 1/19. I was cleaning out my cupboard a month ago and found three tins of Colman’s I had completely forgotten about. I’ll have to buy a new one and compare to see how much of a difference there is in power.)
I found Aldi’s English mustard to be stronger than Colman’s (don’t know if they use the same recipe in the US), and it’s cheaper. The only US mustard I’ve tried is French’s and it is milder. But I can use excessive amounts of English mustard on meat anyway. Tracklements English mustard is supposed to be very strong, haven’t tried that though.
Giving Coleman’s credit, a well-sealed tin is going to be a superior option for long-term freshness compared to the cheap plastic containers that I used to get from McCormiks!
It’s what I found in what my Mother-in-Law’s spice rack (about 1/5 of what I stock), and looked like it had been used once before, it was certainly old (4-5 years) and stale. And I used it decades ago when Coleman’s was the expensive, high-falutin’ brand well beyond my first-time-on-my-own kitchen means.
I’m guessing McCormick’s sells it more as an ingredient for recipes that call for “1/2 tsp dry mustard” or something similar, not for use in making your own condiment.
I wanted another sharp cheddar sandwich for lunch. I found a jar of old Beaver (brand) ‘extra hot’ Chinese mustard in the fridge. First, I got some Coleman’s on the tip of a knife and tasted it. It was hotter than when it’s in a sandwich. Next I tried the Chinese mustard. Hardly hot at all. So I put a good teaspoon of the Coleman’s on the sanger.
I’ve never had Colman’s or any other English mustard, but I am fond of German mustard. My go to is Löwensenf Extra Hot. Despite the name, I never found it to be that hot, either. It’s hotter than typical American yellow mustard, but not much hotter than something like a spicy Dijon.
But now I wonder which is hotter, Colman’s or Löwensenf.