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Anchovy Mustard

A preserved mustard flavored with anchovies, spices, and vinegar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Anchovy Mustard

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Prepare the mustard by omitting salt and adding anchovies.

  2. Mix dark and yellow mustard seeds with mustard bran.

Make the mixture

  1. Add crushed coriander seed, celery seed, cloves, crushed ginger, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, garlic, and onions.

  2. Incorporate coarse sea salt and vinegar.

  3. Grind the mixture thoroughly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  4. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Mustard + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Anchovies
Add a savory, salty depth that gives the mustard its characteristic umami flavor.
Dark and yellow mustard seeds
Provide the main body and sharp pungency once ground and moistened.
Mustard bran
Adds bulk and texture to the ground mixture.
Vinegar
Moistens the ground seeds and provides the acidity that sharpens the mustard.
Garlic
Contributes pungent aroma and savory background flavor.

The step that matters

Grind the mixture thoroughly. Grinding breaks the mustard seed cells so their pungent compounds form when liquid is added. Uneven grinding leaves coarse pieces with weaker, inconsistent heat and texture.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coriander, celery, clove, ginger, thyme, parsley, garlic):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Parsnipfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coriander, celery, clove, ginger, thyme, parsley, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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