Radish Mustard

I'm not a big mustard eater but I do like sharp tastes so once in a while it's just right. I also felt like making something I could give as gifts and mustard, being a pretty common food, seemed like a good choice. Who doesn't like home made preserves in jars?! In this case I felt that using the flavour and kick of radishes would be a good complement to the natural characteristics of mustard seeds. In addition I wanted to see if fermenting the mixture as a 'live' mustard would produce a good result.
In the end I was really happy with this; the mustard has lots of depth, good flavour and doesn't simply blow your nose off. It's complex and a little bit fruity actually. I have since tried making mustard this way with a few different seeds - see Variations at the end - and the results are still good. If you love your condiments, you could do worse than try making your own.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs radish seeds
  
• 5 Tbs mustard seeds (yellow and/or black)
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1/2 cup raw cider vinegar
  
• 1 Tbs salt
  

Method

1. Measure the radish and mustard seeds into a jar and cover with water. Leave overnight.
   
2. Drain the soaked seeds. Measure 1/2 cup of raw cider vinegar and 1 cup of water into your jar and put the seeds back in. Cover loosely with a cloth and allow to sit at room temperature for a week.
   
3. Pour off any excess liquid and reserve it. Tip the seeds from the jar into a blender and blend until becoming smooth; use as much of the liquid as you need to get a paste. Add the tablespoon of salt and blend through. I like to leave the mustard with a slightly chunky wholegrain look.
   
4. Spoon into 2 small jars and refrigerate until needed. The flavour will continue to develop while the mustard is in the fridge.
   

Variations: Try adding a little ground turmeric when blending. Other seeds that I have used with success for this 'mixed mustard' method include green mung bean, buckwheat and fenugreek. 
Tip: Be sure to use food grade radish seeds for sprouting. DO NOT USE radish seeds for growing vegetables as they may have been treated with a fungicide. In Australia I get my radish (and other) sprouting seeds from Green Harvest.

While the seeds are fermenting, you may get a little pinkish tinge in the liquid. This is colour bleed from the radish seeds and is perfectly normal.