Gingerale and Mustard (not together)

I just finished Jennifer Reese's "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" - a cookbook of sorts that compares the cost and difficulty of making things yourself versus buying it at the store. I thought it was a great book - sometimes I was shocked by what she said to make (croissants?!), but I found it really useful for things like condiments (mustard and horseradish). Which I was then inspired to make. I also got inspired to try making gingerale with yeast.

Ginger-ale first. She says that homemade, this costs $1.59 for 2 liters, versus $1.79 for Canada Dry, and the taste of homemade is superior. My two taste testers and I agreed that this soda would be DELICIOUS in some kind of mixed drink...with gin or something, because the ginger is stronger, and because it is still sweet but not overly sweet, and definitely not like canada dry. It isn't like Reed's gingerbrew either though - a little less fizzy. I say it is worth trying once. *I wanted to try making it with less sugar, or with a mix with honey and stevia, but I am not sure how it would turn out since the yeast eats the sugar in order to produce the fizz. So, I went with exact recipe amounts.

Gingerale
juice of 1 lemon
2 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. instant yeast cold water

*You will also need a plastic 2 Liter bottle and funnel sort of thing. I used tin foil! (A glass jar will explode and a plastic water jug does not seal tight enough, so go with the standard pop bottle.)

Pour lemon juice into bottle via "funnel." Add ginger, sugar, and yeast.

Pour in water to fill bottle and cap tightly. Gently shake.

Let sit out at room temp for 24-36 hours, until the bottle is very firm to the touch. Refrigerate.

It is ready to drink when it is cold! (It only lasts a couple of days once opened, so be prepared to drink up.)



The other thing I tried was homemade stone ground mustard. I go through this stuff like crazy (mostly in salad dressings) - so I was excited to try it. Reese says that this costs $0.22/T for the homemade version, versus $0.33/T for grey poupon. I am not sure the cost for the organic stuff from the co-op, but i will look it up next time I go. To me this mustard tasted GREAT. Really. It is a little spicy, and pretty similar to store bought mustard, but fresher and more potent.

Mustard
1/2 c. yellow mustard seeds
2 T. dry mustard
1/3 c. vinegar + 1 T. (I tried a mix of white and apple cider vinegars)
1 T. sugar (optional)
1 t. kosher salt
2 garlics, peeled (*me and garlic are not friends, so I left this out)

1. Grind seeds in a spice grinder (aka coffee grinder) with the dry mustard. It will look like wheat germ - the seeds will not totally break down. (Mine actually was a little finer than wheat germ - so I guess my seeds did break down. huh.)
2. Put seed mixture in a bowl and add 1/2 c. water. Mix together. Cover and let rest overnight.
3. Scrape mixture into a blender or food processor and add rest of ingredients. Liquify. Scrape down the sides and add more vinegar if the consistency is too thick.
4. Store in a jar in the fridge - but DON'T EAT for at least a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups

*You will notice a lack of mustard photos...this is because my computer and camera were stolen this weekend and I lost the picture of ground up mustard seeds, and I never took one of the finished product. Alas. My prime motivation to secure another computer and camera is to assist in my fave pastime of blog posting.  Luckily this post was in the works pre-computer absence, but there may be a delay before another post comes around.