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Quemadmodum Sinapis Facias (How to Make Mustard)

Quemadmodum Sinapis Facias (How to Make Mustard) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe from Columella's Res Rustica for how to make a mustard with pine nuts and starch meant for banquets (the same recipe also shows how to make a simpler mustard for more ordinary meals). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: How to Make Mustard (Quemadmodum Sinapis Facias).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Serves:

8-10

Rating:

Tags : Sauce RecipesAncient Roman Recipes

Original Recipe

Original recipe, Columella Res Rustica 12.57.

LVII. QUEMADMODUM SINAPIS FACIAS.

Semen sinapis diligenter purgato et cribrato; deinde aqua frigida eluito et, cum fuerit bene lotum, duabus horis in aqua sinito; postea tollito, et manibus expressum in mortarium novum aut bene emundatum adicito et pistillis conterito. Cum contritum fuerit, totam intritam ad medium mortarium contrahito et comprimito manu plana; deinde cum compresseris, scarifato, et, inpositis paucis carbonibus vivis, aquam nitratam suffundito, ut omnem amaritudinem eius et pallorem exsaniet. Deinde statim mortarium erigito, ut omnis umor eliquetur. Post hoc album acre acetum adicito et pistillo permisceto colatoque. Hoc ius ad rapa condienda optime facit. Ceterum, si velis ad usum conviviorum praeparare, cum exsaniaveris sinape, nucleos pineos quam recentissimos et amylum adicito diligenterque conterito, infuso aceto. Cetera, ut supra dixi, facito. Hoc sinapi ad embamma non solum idoneo sed etiam specioso uteris; nam est candoris eximii, si sit curiose factum.

Translation

Clean and diligently sift the mustard seeds, then wash them with cool water and, when it is well washed, soak them in water for two hours. After taking them off, squeeze the seeds with you hands and put them in the mortar, new or well cleaned, and grind with the pestle. When they are ground, gather the paste in the middle of the mortar and flatten it with your opened hand; then make holes and place inside hot charcoals. Pour water with saltpetre to remove the bitterness and the yellow colour from the mustard. Lift the mortar to pour off the water. Add white, strong vinegar, mix with the pestle, and strain it. This is an excellent sauce for the turnips.


To prepare the sauce for the banquets, after having cleaned out the mustard, add well-ground, fresh pine nuts and starch, pouring vinegar. The other steps are the same as above. This kind of mustard not only is useful for the sauces, but it is also beautiful: if well made, it is coloured with a fine white.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

75g mild white mustard seeds
2 tbsp hot yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp wheat starch
50g pine nuts, chopped
150ml white wine vinegar

Method:

Saltpetre in large quantities is not something you want to play with. You can make this with a blend of mild (white) and hot (yellow) mustards. So you can perform the grinding and mixing adding the hot coals but avoiding the saltpetre (indeed modern mustard seeds have been bred not to be bitter; which indicates that Roman mustard seeds were closer to the wild mustard ancestors than their modern equivalents).

Soak the mustard seeds in water for a couple of hours, then grind them in the mortar. Flatten the mustard paste, then make a few holes with your fingers and place hot charcoals inside. Pour over a little water (omit the saltpetre) then discard the saltpetre and the charcoals. Scrape the mustard into a bowl.

Chop the pine nuts then place in the mortar and pound to a paste. Work in the starch and the vinegar until smooth then mix with the ground mustard seeds. Stir well to combine then pass through a fine-meshed sieve. Turn the mixture into a pan, heat gently until just simmering then cook until thickened.

Turn into a bowl, allow to cool then serve.