Why it works: Mustard and horseradish match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,832 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
Tartar Mustard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the mustard
In a bowl, mix the Durham mustard and coarse sea salt until smooth.
Gradually add the horseradish vinegar until the desired consistency is reached.
Stir in the cayenne or chili vinegar.
Steep the scraped horseradish in boiling vinegar overnight, then add to the mustard.
Rest and use
Let the mustard sit for 2-3 days before using.
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.
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Mustard + horseradishtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,832 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vinegar + horseradishtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Durham mustard
- Provides the main body and the sharp, pungent mustard flavor.
- Horseradish vinegar
- Adds acidity and sharpness, and thins the paste to the desired consistency.
- Scraped horseradish
- Adds pungent aroma and sharp heat as it steeps in the vinegar.
- Cayenne or chili vinegar
- Adds heat to the mustard.
The step that matters
Adding the horseradish vinegar gradually. Vinegar thins the mustard paste quickly, so adding it a little at a time lets the cook stop once the desired consistency is reached. Too much at once makes the mustard runny and hard to correct.
“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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