Wholegrain Mustard

the smooth, sharp everyday mustard described here, made from non-defatted white mustard seed. It is the basic Czech type.

a different Czech product, named after Krems in Austria. It is brownish and noticeably sweet, with at least 16 % sugar by law. It contains coarsely ground black mustard seed alongside white seed, so it has visible specks. Czechs eat it especially with sausages and smoked meats.

the Czech legal group for flavoured and other types. These include mustard with horseradish (s křenem), hot versions with chilli, honey mustard, mild children's mustards and steak mustards. Most are built on a plnotučná-style base.

Dijon mustard is traditionally made from brown or black seed (Brassica juncea or B. nigra) and is hotter and less sweet. Whole-grain mustard (French moutarde à l'ancienne) is coarse, with partly crushed seeds, the opposite of the smooth Czech type. Bavarian sweet mustard is closer to kremžská than to plnotučná.

Mustard pastes go back to ancient Greek and Roman cooking, which mixed ground seed with grape must. In the Czech lands, Czech Radio's account says plnotučná and table mustard were the first types made locally, and that mustard came into wide everyday use only towards the end of the 19th century. Today it is a staple of Czech eating. Czech Radio puts national consumption at roughly 15,000 tonnes of mustard a year. Its sharp, smooth style is widely seen as distinctively Czech. Production is shared among Czech food companies, including Kand from Dobruška, which makes Malva mustards in Chlumec nad Cidlinou, and Boneco.

Whole mustard seed is not hot until it is ground and wetted. Grinding breaks the cells open, and the enzyme myrosinase then reacts with glucosinolates stored in the seed. In white mustard the main glucosinolate is sinalbin. The reaction produces pungent compounds called isothiocyanates. Those formed from white mustard are not very volatile. This is why plnotučná hořčice burns mainly on the tongue rather than rising into the nose, as black- or brown-seed mustards do. The reaction needs water and is slowed by acid and destroyed by heat, so the order in which water and vinegar are added during manufacture affects how sharp the finished mustard is. The same chemistry explains why long cooking makes mustard milder. Mustard-seed compounds, together with vinegar and salt, also help keep the product from spoiling, so many Czech brands need no added preservatives. The finely ground seed, with its natural oil and mucilage, holds the water and vinegar in a stable, smooth paste.

White mustard is an annual plant in the cabbage family, growing up to about 120 cm tall. It suits temperate Central European conditions and is grown in Czechia, among other places. Brands do not always say where their seed comes from. If origin matters to you, look for producers who state it, or for Czech quality marks such as KLASA, which concern the finished product. Packaging ranges from plastic tubs and squeezable tubes to glass jars. Glass is the easier choice to reuse and recycle, and large catering packs cut down on packaging for heavy users. Under EU law, mustard is a mandatory declared allergen, so it must be shown clearly on labels, and in food service the information must be made available to customers.