Making Mustard...easier than you think!

Hi to all you DIY'ers out there! Welcome back! I hope you're excited to read about making mustard!

When we first opened this store several years ago, I was on a gourmet food kick. I enjoyed making food that called for gourmet ingredients and a lot of those recipes specified gourmet, grainy mustard. I searched the grocery stores and even went to some specialty food stores, but I was unwilling to pay $5 per ounce for mustard. So, we started researching and testing and the Make Your Own Mustard kit was born. You can find the mustard kit here.

We have included 4 different recipes for making mustard. They include: honey mustard, sweet & spicy beer mustard, tangy horseradish mustard and apple cider maple mustard. Each recipe is easy to make and simply delicious.

However, we did run into a few snags, which prompted us to notate some tips and tricks when it comes to making mustard.

~3 of our recipes call for coarsely ground mustard seed, which we have included in the kit for you, but the seed is not pre-ground. We did not pre-grind the seeds for you because we found that everyone's taste is different. Carol liked her mustard seed a little on the coarse side. Sharon liked hers more fine. I didn't have a preference, but it's up to you how coarse or fine you'd like your mustard seed ground.

We used a spice grinder and a coffee bean grinder to grind our mustard seed, but not everyone has access to those appliances. There are other options, you can use a blender or food processor, but if you don't have either of those appliances, you can place your mustard seed between two pieces of cardboard and smash them with a hammer. It's primitive, but it works!

~After making your mustard and letting it refrigerate for at least 24 hours, if it's too watery for your taste you can add a pinch or two of mustard powder to thicken things up. Make sure to stir well after adding the powder.

~Once your mustard is made and refrigerated, make sure to give it a stir or a shake occasionally to distribute its flavors.

~It's best to let your mustard age in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks before consuming. As long as your mustard is refrigerated it will keep for up to 6 months.

~Our recipes all call for cider vinegar when making mustard, however if you prefer a sweeter tasting mustard you may substitute the cider vinegar for rice vinegar.

Did you know that the mustard plant was one of the first plants grown and cultivated by early farmers? The Romans prepared mustard by mixing crushed seeds with wine creating a paste not much different that the mustard we eat today!

In closing, don't waste your money on the gourmet mustard in the store. Making your own is easy and tastes a million times better than the jars you buy from the store. Plus it's much cheaper! Don't forget to check out our Make Your Own Mustard Kit on our website.

 

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Making Your Own Hot Sauce...

Hello everyone! We're back with the much anticipated entry on making hot sauce! It's been a while since we posted and this entry was promised a while ago, but life sure has a way of throwing us curve balls and keeping us busy!

Here, at Make Your Own, we love researching and finding ways to make 'stuff' our own way. The hot sauce recipes we came up with have been tested, re-tested and tested again. We made mistakes and the end product is our Make Your Own Hot Sauce Kit, which can be found by clicking here.

Now, I'm going to hand things off to Carol, our resident hot sauce maker. She has some tips and tricks to making hot sauce and what to avoid!

Hi! I'm Carol, and I've been working at Make Your Own for several years now. Coming up with the hot sauce recipes was a fun time! I spent a lot of time testing the formulas and tweaking the recipes. Below, I've listed some things to keep in mind when making hot sauce.

The directions in the kit instruct you to mix the dry ingredients with the liquid, then heat the mix. The timing on that can only be approximate, because we don't know how much wattage your microwave has. Our ancient one here at the store takes about twice as long as the fastest one available now. (Would you believe almost 4 minutes for a cup of tea? Bless its little heart, slow but sure.) We tested the directions on a 900 watt microwave.

Anyway, the idea is to heat the mix to hot, but not so hot that you couldn't drink it. (Tip: don't consume the 'hot' hot sauce as a drink.)  That's around 125F. After you stir everything up again, heat the mix to ALMOST boiling, around 180F to 200F. Please let it cool down before bottling, if there's a spill, you really don't want almost boiling hot sauce on you or anything else.

If you decide to use fresh hot peppers in your hot sauce, good for you! Please send us pictures of the flames coming out of your ears! We put dried, ground peppers in the kit because we can control the "heat" and it's a lot safer.

           You MUST WEAR RUBBER GLOVES if you are chopping up fresh hot peppers.

We learned the hard way. We also cautioned a friend who is proud of both his garden and his Harley, and still got a phone call that evening, "My hands are BURNING. The emergency room said there wasn't much they could do...HELP!"

A pepper burn is a chemical reaction, an oil that sinks into your skin. When it starts to  "tingle" it's too late. (We tried original Dawn and mechanic's glop degreaser to ease the burn and get rid of the oil, but those only work if the skin isn't tingling yet.). The only thing you can do is soak the skin in cold water until it gets numb, about 10 minutes, take hands out until they start to tingle again, and repeat soaking. This is really annoying to do for 24 to 48 hours and it's hard to get any sleep.

Well, that's about it! The most important thing is to have fun! Doing it yourself can be quite rewarding and homemade hot sauce makes a great gift! Enjoy!

Thanks Carol! I hope you all enjoyed the tips and tricks above for making hot sauce! Our kit comes with everything you need to make 6 different types of hot sauce! You only have to provide measuring cups, mixing bowls and water. Don't forget to check the kit out here.

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Up Next: Making Mustard...

Let's Make Fruit Wine Part 4

Welcome back! We are about to dive into the world of finishing your bottle of wine. If you are just joining us you may want to head back to Part 1 of our series on making your own fruit wine!

Shrink Caps

I know...you're looking at the great wine you just produced and that plain bottle just isn’t doing all your hard work any justice.  What can we do about it?

Let’s get creative and finish it off properly!  First, let’s hide that cork with a beautiful shrink wrap. They are very easy to use and add the perfect finishing touch.  All you need are the shrink caps (foil covers), a shrink cap tool, your wine and boiling water.  Really, that's it!

We have gorgeous gold shrink caps at Make Your Own!

Now let’s get started.  Bring a 1 quart pot of water to a boil.  You don’t want or need a hard boil; just a steady rolling boil is good.  Place your cap on top of your bottle and hold it in place using your shrink cap tool. Quickly dip the top of the bottle in the water and pull it out. (If you don’t have a good grip on the cap it will not shrink in a smooth manner.) Dry your bottle and you’re done!

Another alternative to the boiling water method is to use a hair dryer or a heat gun. This method will also shrink your caps, but it takes only seconds with a direct heat source. Place your shrink cap over your bottle top and hit it with the heat source from the top down until the cap has shrunk down. This method can take a bit of practice.

Labeling Your Wine Bottles

Was that the Merlot or the Cab?  Red is red, so how will you tell them apart?  You could do a taste test but you may not get the one you wanted, so let’s make labels.  It’s not hard, really!  You need a label making program or templates, labels, and a computer with a printer.  There is a great website that lets you make free labels: freelabelmaker.com and Avery.com has the labels.  You can also get the labels at any office supply store.  What you are looking for are 3 ½ x 5 shipping labels. They come 4 to a sheet and have the adhesive already on them.  Avery.com has 2 of them listed, item numbers – 5168 and 8168. 

Once you have your labels, go to the label maker website and pick your wine label design.  A .pdf file will open with the design in it.  Simply add the text you want.  You only fill out the first label; it will automatically add the text to all the labels for you.  Just print, peel and stick them to your wine bottles.  Now your wine bottle is perfect and it has a professional look that fits your homebrewed wine!  And the best part is – You make it your own!

Up Next: Making your own Gourmet Hot Sauce

Let's Make Fruit Wine Part 3

Welcome Back! If you are just joining us you may want to head back to Part 1 of our series on making fruit wine!

So what are you going to do when your wine has fermented out?  Bottle it of course! 

You will need some empty bottles and have a few options available.  You can:

v   Save and re-use any wine bottles you have at home. These will need to have the labels removed.  Some labels will come off easier than others. They can be soaked in warm soapy water, and then scraped off with a new razor blade. Most times letting them soak for 24 hours in soapy water will make the labels easy to remove. Sometimes additional products are needed like Goo Gone.

v    Come visit us for ready to use, re-usable bottles.  These bottles have been cleaned and labels have been removed for you.

v   Come visit us for brand new bottles.

Now that you have your bottles, you need to make sure they are clean and sterilized.  I run my bottles through the dishwasher. If there is something in the bottle that has not come out, a bottle brush with stiff bristles on the end should help to remove the remaining sediment. After they have cooled they need to be santizied.  Dissolve 1 tablespoon of potassium metabisulfite in 1 gallon of warm water and dump into your sink filling by the gallon until it is at least half full. Dip bottles into the santizing solution and let drip dry upside down.  If you don’t want to sanitize in the sink you can use the 5 gallon primary fermentation bucket. You will also need to sterilize your siphon, tubing and EZflo bottle filler using the same solution.

Now onto bottling, place your siphon hose with the EZflo bottle filler in your bottle and the siphon in your carboy.  Begin to siphon.  Keep an eye on your bottle and when the bottle is full, pull up your bottle filler.  This will stop the flow of wine.  Sometimes, when the bottle filler is removed I find that there is more space than I like in my bottle so I touch the tip of the bottle filler to the side of the bottle (which releases a small amount of wine) and bring the level of wine in the bottle up.  Continue filling all your bottles until your carboy is empty. 

Let’s talk corkers! 

There are two options; first is a hand held corker.  You really need two people to use this, if you don’t want to risk knocking your bottle over.  One person will hold the bottle while the second person puts the cork into the corker, holds it over the bottle opening and pulls the arms down. This forces the cork into the bottle.

The second option is a floor corker.  This is what I use and it is great!  This can be done by one person.  You simply put the bottle on the corker’s pedestal, drop a cork in the opening on the corker and pull the arm down.  This forces the cork into your bottle.  You can also adjust the depth of the cork, if you need too.

Up Next: Part 4 - Shrink Wrap Tops & Labels

Let's Make Fruit Wine Part 2

Welcome Back!! If you are just joining us you may want to head back to Part 1 of our series on making fruit wine!

Now, onto Part 2 of Let's Make Fruit Wine!

After about a week, remove the mesh bag with your pineapple mix and let it drain into your bucket.  I don't squeeze my bag because I don't want the extra sediment in my juice.  Check your PA to make sure it is below 3 to 4 percent, if not then let it continue for another week. 

When it is ready, rack your juice into a 1 gallon glass container, add your bung and airlock.  Remember to clean and sterilize all your equipment before you use it.  You should rack your wine about 3 times in six months.  Let it go until it ferments out and is clear. 

I'll let you know when I taste test it, if I am going to sweeten it or not before bottling.  Once bottled you should let it set for 6 to 12 months.  I plan on opening my first bottle in early spring!  What a great way to welcome in the new season!

Have fun!

Up Next: Part 3 - Bottling Your Wine

Let's Make Fruit Wine

I’ve been making wine for years but was intrigued by making fresh fruit wine.  My first batch was a Blueberry Watermelon wine.  This time I’m trying Pineapple. 

I used our 5 gallon bucket for the primary fermentation, Wine Makers Jump Start kit  and our mesh straining bag.

I used 2 fresh pineapples that were about 2 lbs each. To get started you will also need:
3 ½ quarts water
2 lbs sugar
2 Campden tablets

Add the sugar and water to a stock pot and boil.  While waiting, clean the bucket and lid and sterilize them.  I used Potassium Metabisulfite but you can also use B-Brite.  Place your mesh bag into your clean and sterilized bucket. I cut the top and bottom off my pineapple, and then trimmed down the sides taking off most of the skin.  I found that using my blender and making a chunky mix was easier than using a potato masher to try and crush the fruit. Pour the chunky mixture into the mesh bag in the bucket along with a one crushed Campden tablet.  All the extra juice I had from cutting the pineapple was also added.

Add the water to the pineapple in the bucket and as long as it is cooled you can add:

½ teaspoon acid blend
¼ teaspoon tannin
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet 

Put the lid on the bucket but remember to vent it.  If you have a large vent, cover that with cheese cloth to keep the fruit flies out.  After about 12 hours add 1/2 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme and 24 hours after that add the yeast.  Everyday I gently swirled the bucket to mix it.

I am going to taste test the Blueberry Watermelon this fall and try making apple wine!  The batches of fruit wine I have been making are 1 gallon each.  We have a 1 gallon kit here.

To be continued next week...

Soap Making 101

Every year I look for new things to give friends and family members as gifts not only at Christmastime, but also other occasions or just because. This is how I discovered the art of making my own soap!

Making soap has been one of the most fun and rewarding activities that I've ever done. I haven't tried any recipes with lye yet, but I'm hoping to accomplish that this coming holiday season. Instead, this blog post will focus on melt and pour soap making. It's a very simple activity that you can personalize in almost limitless ways.

The most recent batch of soap I made contained natural citrus scents and fresh herbs gathered from my garden. I used a 1/2 round bar soap mold and clear glycerin soap base (Click Here to view the soap base).

The first batch I made contained lavender I collected and dried from my garden. I added the dried lavender to my food processor along with a few teaspoons of water to create a puree. Then I mixed it into the melted soap base along with a few drops of color. It turned out beautiful and smelled heavenly.

The second batch I made contained lemon and orange peel. I simply peeled a lemon and orange (I added the fruit to a fresh pitcher of water for my consumption while I was making soap) placed them into my food processor and blended until they were fine particles. Then I added them to my melted soap base along with some color. Again the soap smelled amazing and turned out great!

I ended up giving some to my neighbor, my parents and in-laws and sending some to work with my husband for his co-workers. I still have a bar sitting on my bathroom sink that my son is slowly but surely diminishing! The entire process took less time than making the 10-15 minute drive to the mall and purchasing soap. It is so easy and is a gift that comes from the heart!

We have a complete soap making kit at Make Your Own that has everything you need to get started. ( Click Here to view the kit) We also have a wide variety of scents, colors and soap molds. ( Click Here to view our entire soap making inventory)

I hope you try your hand at soap making! I'm so glad I did! If you do decide to try it out - post your recipes, tips or tricks below in the comments sections!! I'm always looking for new stuff to add to my soap or new recipes to try!

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Up Next: Making Fruit Wine