The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-12-29
History OF Mustard.

The English word, mustard, was
derived from the Italian mostarda.
owing to the ancient custom of hav-
Ing little must QLatin mustum, un-
fermented grape juice), mixed with
1t, In preparing the condiment. For
centuries the English have been great
mustard eaters-the greatest in the
world. An Englishman may almost
be identified by his liberal use of 1t,
although It has been said that per-
| haps after all there Is not so much
| really eaten as there is left on the
edges of the plates.
The use of mustard powdered In It's
present form, for making into paste,
| originated In Durham, about the year
1920, where 1t was prepared on
small scale by an old lady named
Mrs. Clements, who kept the secret
of its manufacture to herself-grlnd-
ing the seed in mill, and sitting II
for several years. She used to
travel twice year to London and
the principal towns In England to
take orders, and from this arose the
name and fame of Durham Mus
tard," but the best and finest quail
ties now made are the genuine I'm
perlal and ID. s. r.. double super
fine). In manufacturing mustards
the white, or black mixed seed, is
ground to powder, and then put
through an elaborate course Of sift-
ing. The product that remains in
the first sieve is mustard -four. This
Is submitted to finer sieve, and sep
arated into finer quality of dress
ings, and pure mustard flour. Mus
tard oil is afterwards pressed from
the dressings.
II is calculated that upwards Of T.
600 tons of mustard are now manu-
factured yearly in England, and in
no other part of the world Is its man.
ufacture carried on so energetically,
two or three of the English firms
sparing neither trouble nor expense
in producing by the aid of the most
elaborate machinery the best possible
article.
The result is, that the best makes
of English mustard are popular all
the world over, and that more Eng
lish made mustard Is now exported
in single year than there Is of for
eign manufactured mustards imported
in twenty years.
But although mustard may be
made from ground white seed prin-
cipally, and even kept good for fair
length of time, also be sold at low
price, yet such mustard is necessarily
very deficient in true piquant flavor,
because it is the brown or black seed
only which possesses the volatile my
ronic oil, yielding this esteemed fla
vor.
Ground mustard made from dark
seed with this oil left in will not keep
good long, owing to variations in
temperature and exposure to air. 1t
soon causes fermentation, cakes the
powder, turns rancid, bitter and un-
fit for use; hence any kegs, tins or
other packages with discolored paper
Innings or wrappers showing oil stain.
within or without, should always be
rejected as stale or out of condition
The oil is in fact source of great
trouble to manufacturers who wish
to sell a pure mustard in powder OF
good flavor, and at the same time one
that will keep good. The white seed
contains practically none of the vola-
tile myronic oil OF the black, but an
acrid substance, known as "sinal-
bin," which again is but slightly
present in black seed; but of these
two active principles the volatile oil
is by far the most important, and the
black seed is by far the most valued.
Hence also, by reason of manufac-
turers mixing the two kinds of seed.
for although the white seed pos
sesses very little pungency, yet it has
within it the peculiar ferment which
develops the pungent flavor of the
black, and therefore the art of pro-
ducing the best mustards seems to
depend on the iudicious mixture of
the proper proportions. Most of the
English makers now sell two classes
of mustards, one comprising mustards
of different qualities, but all pure,
and the other classes a set of mix
lures, called mustard compounds of
"