Pickled Mustard Seeds

5 minutes prep (plus 1 hour rest) 30 minutes active cooking (plus 1 hour rest) 35 minutes total
Makes 20oz

These are a favorite unexpected condiment of mine...

that adds a fun sweet-tart bitter crunch. I love topping dishes like deviled eggs, rice bowls, breakfast toasts, meat & potatoes, or mixed in salad dressing.

~ Nicole Sakai, Factory North Creative Director and Wellspent Consultant

Sorta Summer

Wellspent Creative Director Nicole Sakai and her partner Truen Pence are engaged in many creative endeavors, including a collaborative wine label called Sorta Summer. Every year, they partner with a like-minded winemaker and turn their backyard grapes into quirky, limited edition wines.

Read more

What You'll Need

Ingredients

For the shopping list

  • 1 cup mustard seed
  • 2 cups of white wine vinegar (or 1 1/2 cups vinegar + 1/2 cup water dpending on how tart you want them)
  • 1 tablespoon of shallots, thinly sliced or diced (optional)

From our shop

1 teaspoon of  Kosher Sea Salt, Wellspent
$9.00– Gossen Island - Norway
Out of stock

3 tablespoons of  Oregon Blackberry Honey
$10.00– Philomath - Oregon
1 teaspoon of  Pragati Turmeric
$10.00– Oakland - California
(optional)

Equipment

From the kitchen

  • 1 Fine Mesh Strainer
  • 1 Stainless Steel Saucepan
  • 1 Wooden or Stainless Steel Spoon (So the turmeric doesn't stain your utensil!)
  • measuring cups

What you'll have to do

Step 1 — Rinse 1 cup mustard seeds in a fine strainer under your faucet. Combine 2 cups vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium stainless saucepan, add rinsed mustard seeds. Allow to soak at room temperature for at least 1 hour, up to overnight. This step is optional but makes for plumper more flavor seeds in the end.

Step 2 — Mix in 3 tablespoons honey (or sugar) and 1 teaspoon turmeric to the saucepan ingredients. If you have shallots, this is when you would add those to the pan.

Step 3 — Heat on the stove on medium until simmering. Stir frequently and keep at a simmer. Cook it for about 20 minutes. You will notice that the mustard seeds have plumped up and the consistency has thickened a bit similar to cooking grits.

Step 4 —
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature, uncovered, for about 1 hour. The mixture will become thicker as it cools.

Step 5 — Store in a lidded glass jar in the refrigerator.

Note — This recipe can easily be cut in half.

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