This is bratwurst without a bun.
I forgot to buy mustard. I never made mustard condiment before so I went with instinct.
The dull light-brown mustard powder scooped out of the bulk spice jars at Whole Foods and brought home then and mixed with plain white vinegar and water turns out to be the best mustard I have ever tasted in my life. It is simply outstanding. A tiny taste confuses at first because sweetness comes across immediately. And then the isothiocyanates kick in and Yoza! right on the side of the tongue arises a horseradish-y burn that is very strong, but without the sinus flush of Chinese mustard or of wasabi or of regular horseradish. I added nothing sweet and no horseradish at all and yet those two flavors come across directly and powerfully and the effect is mesmerizing.
I would say that it tastes like Dijon-style mustard except a lot stronger and better.
I would say that it tastes like Dijon-style mustard except a lot stronger and better.
* Four level tablespoons mustard powder from Whole Foods Bulk spices.
* Three tablespoons plain white vinegar. Two tablespoons filtered water. The powder continued to absorb water for an hour or so. Additional filtered water added by the tablespoon until the thickness settled, actually, I am not certain it has completely stopped absorbing. It might need to be thinned again.
I do not know how mustard from the regular spice rack would work but I am going to go right back there to Whole Foods and get a lot more of this mustard powder and make more of this mustard condiment. I am amazed how well this worked. And do you know what? This is causing me to experience confirmation bias again. I already concluded that food companies convinced a busy and unsuspecting public that their guild alone are keepers of the alchemy and high science of mustard. Of course it is nonsense and all this time my mustard could have been awesome had I not accepted that bogus message myself. Conversely, had it not worked then it would not have affected my bias one way or the other because that is how confirmation bias works. *smugs*
I have also uncovered the final mystery of perfect French fries and for this no award bestowed upon me can match my own satisfaction. * smugs again* These potatoes were parboiled in salted water that was acidified with vinegar and then the fries were frozen. I think the acid toughens the surface of the fries while allowing the interior to blow apart and go fluffy in the final oil fry. These finished fries are what I was aiming for. Firm crisp fried exterior that stayed that way for more than a few minutes out of the oil and soft fluffy interior, the perfect combination of two textural delights. They would be even better had I cut broader fries because when the starchy interior blows apart it really blows apart and these thinly cut fries had hardly any interior to them to blow. Taken together I suppose these extremes, boiling water, acid, freezing, hot oil, are among the most violent treatments that a potato would undergo.
The sauerkraut is the type that comes in a plastic bag, but only because I did not want to bring home another huge jar. I considered rinsing the sauerkraut. Tasted it. Decided it was not too salty and not overly vinegary but it could use some cracked black pepper and whole fennel seed. It is very good.
Salted water with cider vinegar added ↑. Boiled lightly for six to eight minutes. Not completely done but almost.
Frozen ↓.
Fries in oil not shown.
Frozen fries with a thin ice coating and internal starchy cell structure that is damaged by ice crystals and then dumped into hot oil means a crackling good drama that is rife with danger and the chance of personal harm. A ridiculously oversized pot is used for protection against oil bubbling over onto the burner. But that still leaves the hazard of spilling and for that I can only say to turn in your handles and don't be such a klutz around hot oil.
Are you saying that confirmation bias causes people to accept the superiority of prepared mustards or that confirmation bias causes you to believe in the superiority of your own mustard? Without a double blind experiment, you should take your perception with a grain of . . . mustard.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is I almost held off until I had a fresh jar of proper mustard. The idea of making my own seemed implausible. That the result is better and so easy is quite a surprise to me.
ReplyDeleteFor I was born into a world where mustard comes in jars and from squeeze bottles only. It's like a rule that nobody actually said but rather just kept acting out so I never questioned it. The powder stuff is something else for something different it has very limited use the only thing the two have in common is the word mustard.
I am trying to say that the early conclusion I made that is in my profile that companies subtly caused me and I'm supposing the public to accept the idea that only the branded companies could make complicated things like mustard, what with all the subtleties involved and chemistry and such, was not pulled on purpose, it just happened. All they were doing was promoting their product but eventually we would not even think about combining our own condiments. I only thought of the possibility because I ran out of liquid mustard.
I'm poking fun at confirmation bias.
I had already been through this with salad dressings and with mayonnaise so why the thought did not occur to me earlier kind of does confirm the idea that it is the success of food companies that resulted in us collectively losing the connection between product and its source elements.
So I have this conclusion about companies and then this mustard thing happens and now that earlier conclusion is reaffirmed. Whereas had the attempt failed the earlier conclusion about companies would still be there blithely unaffected.
The companies were promoting their product and only promoting their product because a product that simple really needs promotion. The separation of product from source material happened in my mind and I am supposing other people's minds without the companies even trying to do that. It meant their product was good and useful and accepted. So useful that following generations would not know or even think about where it comes from. That would be me. I still have no idea how to make catsup and I probably won't know until I run out and need some immediately and simultaneously realize I have tomato paste and a lot of other elements around too that could be used and then actually give catsup a go. Imagining further, if that also turns out to be simple and better then my bias will be confirmed again. Whereas if my imaginary future catsup experiment fails, it simply fails and my bias remains unaffected, and I get to try again with catsup until that bias is confirmed, I'm just that thick.
But that bias is eroding now that I'm picking at it like this even as it is confirmed. Eventually the bias will be confirmed to extinction.
When I see the bottles of dressing in people's refrigerator door, I'm blown away. When bottled dressing is the only option, as with those prepared dressings in tough plastic take out packages I was given recently with the pizza and salad and again in hospital, I feel a pang of depression because I know that really good dressing is just a few shakes away and the pizza place is carrying on as if producing superior bleu cheese dressing was not easier than opening an #10 can of inferior dressing. I am still amazed, and I mean really amazed, at the cooks on TV that use jarred mayonnaise when I know that they know their own mayonnaise is a lot better and very simple to whip out. I see them dip into the jar of commercial white stuff and think, "Really? And you, a chef?" And now the exact same thing happened again with mustard. I've just now seen again the recurring ransom paid to convenience.