On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 799

mustard flour, which has been ground and
sieved to remove the seed coat. Dry mustard
seedsandtheirpowderarenotpungent.Their
pungency develops over the course of a few
minutes or a few hours when the seeds are
soakedinliquidandground,orthepreground
seedsaresimplymoistened.Thecombination
of moisture and cell damage revives the
seeds’ enzymes and allows them to liberate
the pungent compounds from their storage
forms.Mostpreparedmustardsaremadewith
acidicliquids—vinegar,wine,fruitjuices—
which slow the enzymes, but also slow the
laterdisappearanceofthepungentcompounds
astheygraduallyreactwithoxygenandother
substancesinthemix.
RomanMustard
Carefully cleanse and sift mustard-seed,
thenwashitincoldwater,andwhenithas
beenwellcleaned,leaveitinthewaterfor
twohours.Nexttakeitoutandafterithas


been squeezed in the hands,…add pinekernels, which should be as fresh as
possible,andalmonds,andcarefullycrush
them together after pouring in vinegar….
Youwillfindthismustardnotonlysuitable
asasaucebutalsopleasingtotheeye;for
ifitiscarefullymade,itisofanexquisite
brilliance.
—Columella,Dererustica,1stcenturyCE

Oncethepungencyhasdeveloped,cooking
willdriveoffandmodifytheirritant
moleculesandsoreducethepungency,
leavingbehindamoregenericcabbage-family
aroma.Mustardisthereforeusuallyaddedat
theendofthecookingprocess.
Other Uses for Mustards In addition to their
chemicaldefenses,mustardseedsareabouta
thirdprotein,athirdcarbohydrate,andathird
oil. When the seeds are ground, the small
protein and carbohydrate particles and
dissolvedmucilagefromtheseedcoatcancoat