I subscribe to a lot of food-centric magazines. Of course, the obligatory Bon Appetit and Food & Wine are scattered around the house, but there are also stacks of Eating Well and Saveur piled by the couch. Most of the other magazines I subscribe to have at least one or two sections about food as well, publications like Southern Living, New Mexico, Country Living, Sunset, Organic Gardening and Mother Earth Living. Yes, that is a lot of periodicals to keep up with.
That leads me to the pickle I was in regarding today’s post.
Pun intended.
In a recent publication (see list above), I read a blurb about pickling mustard seeds and how these little brined seeds were become popular as garnishes and condiments by chefs worldwide. I made a mental note to make some and dog-eared the page. I still had a surplus of mustard seeds from the mustard-making kick I have been on. (See Homemade Dijon Mustard and Oktoberfest Beer Mustard.)
Now all I had to do was find that darned magazine. I did a halfhearted search through some random stacks and quickly gave up and went to the internet. I found my recipe here, but there are many, many, many similar ones out there.
Pickled Mustard Seeds
from Danny Bowien (A fellow Okie, I might add.)¾ c. whole yellow or brown mustard seeds (I used brown.)
1 c. white vinegar
⅓ c. sugar
2 Tianjin dried chiles or a pinch of red pepper flakes (I used one dried Thai chili.)
½ t.saltPlace mustard seeds in a small heatproof bowl and set aside. I simply used a pint jar. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, chiles or pepper flakes and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.
Pour the hot liquid over the mustard seeds. Stir and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours.
You will have a little over 1 cup. May be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 month.
I have to confess that I am a hoarder when it comes to magazines because there is always a recipe or two in each one that I dog ear to come back to. These are stacked in huge piles in my psuedo home office (that wants to be a library when it grows up). Also, I rarely let go of Gourmet editions so I have at least a couple of drawers full of those vintage copies.
The first step is admitting I have a problem, right?
Back to the pickles.
I love these. They burst in your mouth. They are sweet and tangy and spicy flavor explosions. I can just imagine them on top of deviled eggs. Beyond that, I don’t know as of yet what I will do with the rest of the jar.
If you want to read my other weird forays into pickling, check out Pickled Grapes and Pickled Chard Stems.
Who knows what will get pickled next.
I have several stacks of Gourmet in my storage building. I intend to bring them to work and let people sift through them, because I too am a magazine hoarder. — Never thought of pickling mustard seeds. Looks like a fun mouthful!
It is so hard for me to let go of them. I think I take after my grandmother who always had stacks of Capper’s Weekly around. 🙂
I have never thought of pickling mustard seeds! And I love the idea of topping them on deviled eggs!
I have mixed them in with some sriracha mayo, too. yum!
I’m a big pickling fan. I pickled pineapple once as a garnish for pork and it was delicious. And for some reason, I have a big jar of these seeds. I’m going to give this a try.
Cool. I hope you do try it. Next time I will do this on a smaller scale.
I get that with the magazines! I’ve had to cut back as I just can’t keep up with them all so am down to a few now. The pickled mustard seeds sound great and perfect for deviled eggs. I wonder how they’d be on vegetables, maybe asparagus or turnips. Thanks for the recipe, Debra
Yep, I know I have a problem. I just subscribed to a few more (seriously)! I like the way you think about garnishing veggies with these little pickles.
I have only pickled eggs & that was with beet juice!
And, I have never pickled eggs!
Bookmarked! I love mustard in all its variations and this recipe sounds like a winner.
I am pretty sure I have some pickled peppers bookmarked over at your site, too.
This is such a cool idea and I have to master the art of pickling eventually! It is so handy!
Honestly, I don’t think there is much of an art to it…if I can do it….
Love these! I can see sprinkling them on sandwiches, salads and smoked salmon. Thanks for sharing this Deb! It’s a keeper!
I have been mixing some with with sriracha mayonnaise for burgers and corn on the cob.
Try your mustard seeds with antipasto meats, cheeses and crostini. Yum!