My First Mustard

Goddamn, it has been forever since I've posted. I attribute that to laziness, illness, and an actual dislike of writing(don't ask why I'm writing this, I don't have enough energy to answer). But to get to the point:
Making My Own Mustards!!!

Now, I hadn't eaten mustard in a year, as that was how long it'd been since I realized this whole corn thing. However, mustard is one of my favorite condiments and is very useful in cooking(especially Dijon). I decided to start my adventure with a very basic brown mustard, assuming that it would be hard to mess up. Luckfully, I was correct in the assumption. This mustard is spicy with a slight sweetness to it as well. It mellows out after the initial punch and leaves a delightful aftertaste. A few more comments after the recipe:

Basic Coarse Brown Mustard
1/3 cup Brown Mustard Seeds
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar(I use Eden Organic, you could use any safe apple cider vinegar though)
1 clove Garlic, halved3 tbsp water
3 tbsp Raw Honey(I trust Raw honey over processed; the flavor is also far superior)
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
Mix the seeds, apple cider vinegar, and the garlic together in a cup and let it sit in the fridge for at least two days. This process is called "blooming" and can be done in as little as 36 hours, though the longer you let it sit(though not too long as it just goes bad), the more mellow and nice the flavors will become. If you don't let it bloom at all, it will be pure fire and taste terrible.
Remove the garlic from the mixture and add the rest of it to a food process(or a blender, though the processor is easier). Add the water in as well and blend until somewhat smooth; it will stay fairly coarse even if you process it for a while, so don't worry on that front. Put in the honey, sea salt, and cinnamon and mix well. I know that seems like a large amount of honey, but believe me, you'll need it.
Keep the honey in a tight sealed container and it should store for a while. If you let it sit for a few days you'll notice the flavor changing; that is normal and enjoy the variety.

The finished product:


*I got this recipe from a gardening forum, in case anyone was wondering.

Orange Marmalade

I love orange marmalade. I never enjoyed it as a kid but it's unbeatable on biscuits or a nice piece of toast in my opinion, though it is quite sugary(all jams and preserves are fairly sugary though, so that's kind of unavoidable). However, since St. Dalfour decided to friggin' poison me with their "fruit" pectin, I know of no brand that makes a safe marmalade. So fine. I'll make my own damn marmalade. Here's a recipe courtesy of Kerr, with a small adaptation at the end. Make sure to buy organic produce and scrub the outside of the rinds very well; you want to get as much of the chemical and wax residue off as possible.

Orange Marmalade

2 to 3 oranges, sliced as thin as possible
2 medium lemons, sliced thinly
6 cups water
≈6 cups of sugar, have extra

Tools Needed:
At least 10 half-pint jars
Canning lids and screw caps for said jars
A large, heavy bottomed pot for cooking. This will have to hold all said involved products, so do make sure it's large enough.
A candy thermometer
Possibly a jar boiler.

Yield: It called for seven half-pints, I made eleven. Highly dependent upon the kind and size of the oranges. Always have extra jars.

Slices the oranges and lemons as thin as you can. If you have a mandolin, this works well. Otherwise use the sharpest knife you can get your hands on. Don't start adding your hand slices to the marmalade with it though, that'd be unpleasant in many ways. I did it by hand and quartered them before slicing as to make it easier. This also makes the leftover rind sizes fairly reasonable in the finished product, so it works well.
Mix the sliced oranges, lemons, and water in the pot and bring to a strong boil for 20-30 minutes, until the rinds are very soft. That means you should be able to cut one of the pieces in half with your wooden spoon really easily. Measure out this piping hot product, put it back in the pot, and add in sugar equal to the amount of juice and fruit you measured(a one-to-one ratio, that is). Add this to the juice mixture and cook it until it has a strong boil at 220 ˚F. It will gel if you put a bit of it on a plate and set it in the freezer for a moment
Now this is the important part that must be done in quick and proper succession for it work. Sterilize the jars and the screw caps, drying both afterwards. Add the lids to a small pot of water and bring to a boil to ensure a proper bond. Now, ordinarily when you make marmalade or any preserve you're supposed to process them in a hot water bath(for five minutes for this product) to ensure the proper seal. However, I hate actually doing that because it's overly hot(especially in the summer), takes a fair amount of time, and wastes resources. So instead put the still boiling product inside of the jars, put on the dried lid, screw on the twist cap as tight as possible, and flip upside down and let it sit for ten minutes. Make sure the edge of the jar is fully clean when you put on the lid by the way, or it just won't work. After letting the jars sit upside down for the ten minutes, flip them rightside up and they should seal on their own. You'll hear them pop and eventually all of them should pass the pop test like jam jars do at the store. This should happen with 30 minutes of flipping this back over. If it never happens, prepare the boiler and process in the boiling water bath for five minutes.

Marmalade can take two to four week to set, so don't be distressed if it stays a liquid for a long period; It's perfectly normal. If by some off-chance it never does set, you still have delicious orange syrup to use a condiment. Happy canning.