Gershman Liza - The Good Cooks Book of Mustard: One of the Worlds Most Beloved Condiments, with More Than 100 Recipes

Other Books by Michele Anna Jordan

More Than Meatballs

Vinaigrettes & Other Dressings

The World Is a Kitchen

Lotsa Pasta

VegOut! A Guide Book to Vegetarian Friendly Restaurants in Northern California

The BLT Cookbook

San Francisco Seafood

The New Cooks Tour of Sonoma

Pasta Classics

California Home Cooking

Polenta

Pasta with Sauces

Ravioli & Lasagne

The Good Cooks Journal

The Good Cooks Book of Tomatoes

The Good Cooks Book of Salt & Pepper

The Good Cooks Book of Oil & Vinegar

A Cooks Tour of Sonoma

Copyright 1994 by Michele Anna Jordan

New material copyright 2015 by Michele Anna Jordan

Photographs copyright 2015 by Liza Gershman

First published in 1994 by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Erin Seaward-Hiatte

Cover photo credit: Liza Gershman

Print ISBN: 978-1-63220-586-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-013-5

Printed in China

In memory of my friend Mary Frances Kennedy MFK Fisher

19081992

Contents

Foreword

W e tend to take our food for granted because we have to eat. So, we often eat without ever giving thanks to whichever deity we worship for our daily fare. Or then, tipping the scale way down in the opposite direction, some of us look at food, not as deserving of our full gratitude or to be enjoyed unconditionally, but as a part of a strict social rite to practice with business partners, or even, in extreme cases, as a way to climb the ladder of fame.

Mercifully there are also the others, all those who work in small communities, keeping the flame of good fare burning for all, using their fresh local ingredients with enthusiasm and personal flair, teaching the gospel of purity and simplicity. Michele Jordan is one of these dedicated souls. Long before she came to the School for American Chefs as my student, I noticed her well-written articles in a Sonoma County newspaper and admired her good culinary sense and techniques.

Michele has now written a very lively book on the liveliest of all condiments and my very favorite of all: the lowly mustard. May this attractive volume bring all cooks and inveterate cookbook readers a joyous renewed acquaintance with this oldest and most popular taste booster.

Madeleine Kamman

Director and Professor

School of American Chefs, Beringer Vineyards

St. Helena, CA, October 1993

Acknowledgments

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Barry Levenson, founder of the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum and curator of the National Mustard Museum: Barry, I am truly sorry for referring to you as Barry Lawrence back in 1996 when you were on my radio show, Mouthful . It is one of the things that haunts me at 3 a.m. when I cant sleep. Please chalk it up to my novice days as a radio host, when I was nervous and occasionally misspoke, over and over. And thank you for your ongoing passion for all things mustard; youve added a coat of bright yellow to the world.

And thanks to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant for carrying PIC Dijon mustard; it is one of my all-time favorites and youve saved me thousands in air fare to the South of France. Dammit.

Once again, I am indebted to Nicole Frail and the team at Skyhorse Publishing for making this a fulfilling project despite or perhaps because of the crazy schedule. Yall are great! I offer a special shout-out to the design team for listening to my reservations and coming up with such a great cover design.

Liza Gershmans photographs in this book are spectacular. Thank you so much, Liza. And thank you, Rayne Prop Mistress Wolfe for your dedication and inspiration with styling. Big thanks, as well, to Nancy Lorenz, Kelly Keagy, my grandson Lucas and everyone else who helped with the photo sessions. And to my neighbors, Amy, Leslie and Kelsey, thank you for not minding that I stole your ladder a couple of times. I wish you much happiness in your new home but am very sad youve moved away from out sweet little hilltop.

Speaking of sweet little hilltops, I am deeply indebted to the wonderful Mary Duryee for the lovely home where I have lived for almost, gulp, thirty years. I knew the moment I saw the little high-ceilinged south-facing room that my Muse would be happy in the space and indeed she is. Together, we are still going strong. Mary, thank you, from the deepest recesses of my heart and soul.

I send a big merci beaucoup to Joanne Derbort, my editor at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Sonoma magazine, for being the essential cog in the crazy machine of my writing life. And to the entire newspaper and magazine teams, thank you thank you thank you .

Special thanks, again, to Clark Wolf, for wisdom, support, passion and encouragement.

And to Ken Behrens, thanks for all your help with all things electronic, all things wood, all things mechanical and and and youre a great friend and I deeply appreciate all you do for us.

And to my closest friends and family, especially James Carroll and John Boland, my daughter Nicolle and her husband Tom, my daughter Gina and her extraordinary son Lucas, thank you again, for absolutely everything.

And now, lets eat! Please pass the mustard

Introduction

to the Second Edition

S o much has changed in the world of food since I began writing The Good Cooks series in the early 1990s, with a single exception: Mustard.

Interest in one of the worlds favorite condiments has increased, with mustard festivals, including the Napa Valley Mustard Festival, launched the year after The Good Cooks Book of Mustard was published, and both local and national mustard competitions. Barely a year passes that I dont get a home-crafted mustard in the mail.

Its mustard itself that has not changed. The major stylesDijon, coarse-grain, English, and American ballpark mustard among themremain what they have been for decades and in some cases, centuries.

There are scores of new flavored mustards, too, mustards with chocolate nibs, cranberries, raspberries, chipotles, lavender, blue cheese, figs, all manner of herbs, and more. About the only type of mustard Ive never seen is licorice, and I expect it to appear sometime soon.

Yet mustard itself endures, just as it is, without the discovery of heritage varieties or the development of new hybrids. Mustard is mustard, perfect as it has been for millennia, and that is a good thing.