The Mustard Seed: Summer's Dark Horse Spice?

Yellow Mustard Seed

I'll be the first to admit that among the throngs of fascinating spices that line my shelves, the little mustard seed is often overlooked by me.  I hope it'll forgive me, for in reality it is an amazing little seed indeed.  And with visions of summer pickles dancing through my head, what better time of year to blog about this spicy gem?  Certainly the mustard seed has been around since the dawn of time (and, in fact, is the star of the Christian Parable of the Mustard Seed). 

Anyway, no longer shall I ignore this yellow (or brown or black) seed!  In fact, I may throw down the red carpet...for the mustard seed gives us so much.  Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually around1 or 2 mm in diameter. Mustard seeds may be coloured from yellowish white to black.   These seeds are so important to so many different regional cuisines.  The seeds can come from essentially three plants: black mustard, brown Indian mustard and white mustard.


It would seem this unassuming seed is quite the globetrotter.  The earliest reference to mustard seed is in, no surprise, India - 5th century BCE.  A story of a grieving mother and the mustard seed is told by Gautama Buddha.  When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to Buddha for a cure.  The Buddha requests for her to bring along a handful of mustard seeds from a family that's never experienced the loss of a child, husband, parent or friend.  The mother searches for such a house in her village to no avail.  In this search, she learns that death touches one and all and she cannot be selfish in her grief.  The French have used mustard seeds as a spice since 800 AD, and it was actually among the spices taken by the Spanish on explorations throughout the 15th century.  Jewish texts compare the size of the universe to the size of a mustard seed in order to demonstrate the world's insignificance and to teach humility.

Easy to overlook, it's interesting to take a peek out how much the mustard seed is utilized throughout various cuisines/recipes:

• India utilizes the mustard seed for various types of pickles that commonly feature mango, chili powder and are often preserved in mustard seed oil;
• North Americans utilize the mustard seed for making sweet pickles, dill pickles, etc.;
• Of course, mustard seed is the star of the plethora of mustards on the market today (SO easy to make at home....and SO much better!)
•  Irish Corned Beef
•  Chutney
•  Deviled Eggs

So - next time you pass by the lovely mustard seed, stop and ponder just a little longer and maybe try it out in your kitchen.  Here's a recipe to get you started!

EASY SUMMER FREEZER PICKLES

• 8 pounds cucumbers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 3 tablespoons Charmed Spices Natural Pacific Sea Salt
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon Charmed Spices Ground Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon  Charmed Spices Yellow Mustard Seed 

1.  In a large container, combine cucumbers, onion and salt. Let stand for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
2.  In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; let stand for 2-3 hours, stirring often. 
3.  Drain and rinse the cucumber mixture; add sugar mixture and stir well. Pack into 1-pt. freezer containers, leaving 1-in. headspace. Cover and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Thaw before serving. Yield: 6 pints. 

Iced Tea Tutorial: The Way We Do It

Bentley serving up All Things Tea iced tea!

This blog post might be short and sweet (and oh, how sweet it is)...but it just might save your summer!  Southwestern Ontario is in the grips of a scorching, dry summer...so I kind of feel like revealing our iced tea secret makes me a heroine.  Ha.  The other day a burly man pulled up to our shop on his beautiful Harley Davidson.  He was that stereotypical 'biker guy' - long hair, tattoos.  He came in with one sole motive: Iced Chai Latte from All Things Tea.  It's a popular iced tea here, and as such, I had to break the news that it had sold out and was still in the process of being made.  His bottom lip began to quiver and I was certain my news was about to make a grown (biker) man cry.  Yup folks - it's really THAT good.  Fortunately, I was able to use my back-up flash freeze method (more on that later) and he left happy, dignity well in tact. 

More often than not, people tell me that when they make their iced teas at home with our great loose leaf tea, it still doesn't taste the same as what they drink at the shop.  It really is an easy method I use, but a few details are critical in making it SUPERIOR iced tea.  My method may not be the same as you've heard before, but it works for us....and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

WHAT MAKES A STELLAR ICED TEA?

1.  Start with top quality loose leaf tea - your iced tea will only be as good as the tea you use;
2.  We use Reverse Osmosis (RO) water.  This is IMPORTANT.  Loose leaf tea is delicate and water that is hard destroys the natural flavour.  At the very least, use a quality spring water - tap water does NOT cut it.
3.  Use the right amount of tea leaves:water ratio, watch your water temperature and steep time - tea is by nature 'fussy' - follow these simple rules and I promise the best iced tea on the block every time!
4.  Do not over sweeten your iced teas - common mistake!  Using too much sugar masks the great flavour of your iced tea.

WHAT WE DO:

1.  Figure out how many ounces are in your heat-safe pitcher that you'll be using.  Use 1 heaping teaspoon of loose leaf tea per 6 oz. of water.  For example, if your pitcher holds 60 oz. of water, you should be using 10 heaping tsps. of tea.

2.  Fill your pitcher with boiling water (for black, rooibos or herbal teas) or steaming water (just below the boiling point) for green, white or oolong teas.

3.  We use non-bleached, biodegradable tea sacks for steeping the tea (available for sale at All Things Tea) - this facilitates easy leaf removal and the used tea sack can go into a compost bin or garbage.

4.  Place your prepared tea sacks into the pitcher and steep for the proper amount of time (green tea: 2 minutes; oolong: 2 minutes; rooibos/herbals: 10 minutes; black tea: 3 minutes; white tea: 2 minutes).  Promptly remove your tea sack.

5.  At this time you can choose whether to sweeten your iced tea or not.  For rooibos teas, we often use nothing as it has its own natural sweetness.  For greens (which tend to take on a slight astringency as they cool) we generally use 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. sugar per measuring cup.  If you're not a fan of sugar, you could certainly use stevia or even agave nectar, honey - up to you!

6.  Let your iced tea come to room temperature on your counter and then put in fridge (ideally overnight).

When our iced tea is at room temperature, we like to sometimes make ice cubes from the tea itself.  It is attractive and doesn't water down your final product.  If we're feeling extra-fancy, we might freeze some blueberries or raspberries in the ice cube tray, too.  

To make a latte drink, we simply use a black tea (like our Chai Indienne) - fill the pitcher 3/4 with water, 1/4 1% milk and about a 1/2 tsp of sugar per measuring cup.  We let THIS concoction steep for 15 minutes.  That's it, that's all - no fake syrups, no false ingredients - just yumminess!

Flash-Freeze Method: This method we use when in a pinch for time.  Steep your tea just as above and then immediately pour it over a glass or pitcher FULL of ice - less enamoured with the process because it does water it down somewhat, but it is still acceptable!

And, you didn't hear this from me, but we've actually been known to use our amazing iced teas as a vodka martini base at summer BBQs at our house.  They aren't half bad, I tell you.  Ahem.  I find solace in the fact that tea is so good for us!  And before signing off, I would like to send out a mention to a friend and customer who has an incredible blog on living a lifestyle with less sugar.  She is a big fan of All Things Tea and has concocted some amazing summer drinks using our tea.  She has a VERY amusing writing style and the amount of effort she puts into her research is admirable.  Feel free to pop by her blog at: http://www.lesssugarnaturally.com/sugar-free-beverages/

And lastly, if you're thinking iced tea is just the thing to get you through this blazing heat, I'd like to share with you what we've noticed are best-selling loose leaf teas for making iced teas (this is observation for 7 summers!):

Georgia Peach

Honeybush Raspberry Rooibos

Angel Falls Mist (fruit tisane)

Japan's Green Treasures

Mayan Chocolate (particularly for making lattes)

Thanks for stopping by - may you drink tea, stay cool and have a great summer!