Can You Freeze Mustard? – Storage Guide
Quick Answer
Mustard can be frozen to extend its shelf life. Although refrigeration keeps mustard good for about a year, freezing can add an extra 3-4 months. To freeze, portion the mustard into ice trays and then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container.
Read on for more detail
Mustard is one of those classic American staples that is great for a multitude of reasons. You can use it for so many things. Mustard is probably most-known for hamburger or hot dog toppings but it certainly is not limited to these options.
Or maybe you keep mustard in your house because you use it occasionally but you use it so little that you’re worried you’re going to end up tossing half the bottle. So now you need a solution to avoid wasting half bottles of mustard every time you need it.
How long does mustard last and can you freeze your mustard to make it last longer? Mustard will stay good in the fridge for quite a long time but you can freeze it if you feel like you need an alternative solution that you can just pull out when you do need it.
We’ve put together a guide to provide you with essential details about storing mustard and steps to how you could freeze your mustard to make it last longer. It’s really a simple solution but there are some steps to make using your mustard easy after you’ve frozen it.
Keep reading to learn your options for freezing mustard and more information on storage tips and options as well.
A Mustard Storage Guide
Storing your mustard should be easy. If you use mustard frequently you don’t need to worry about alternative storage methods, just store it in the refrigerator because chances are you are going to use it long before it goes bad.
But this is not the case for every household. Households of smaller sizes may take much longer to use a bottle of mustard or households who simply don’t care to use mustard except for the occasional recipe that calls for it won’t use the bottle quickly enough.
For this reason, you need options. It’s simply no good if you have to purchase a new bottle of mustard every 6 months to a year when you suddenly need a tablespoon of it just to complete your recipe.
Mustard has a lot of uses. If you’re looking for some unique ideas to use your mustard here are a few options for you.
- Potato salad
- Deviled eggs
- Corn dogs and hot dogs
- Use to make a marinade mix
- Mustard greens
- Dipping sauces
- Make salad dressing
- Sandwich topping
- Tuna salad
These are just a few ideas for putting your mustard to use but it can be used for a multitude of options.
How Mustard is Made
Mustard can be bought from your local grocery store (or even on Amazon) or you can make your own at home.
To give you a general idea of what is in mustard and how it is made we wanted to share a simple mustard recipe with you.
This will just provide you with a basis of what mustard contains in an effort to help you understand how certain variables might affect your attempts to freeze your mustard.
While this is a general recipe, just remember that commercial mustard may be processed differently and homemade recipes could vary greatly by tastes.
- You will need water, ground or dry mustard, salt, turmeric, garlic, paprika, and white distilled vinegar.
- Mix water and all seasonings, including dry mustard, in a pan and whisk until it is smooth and mixed.
- Cook on low to medium heat, stirring frequently. It will bubble up into a thick paste. This process could take up to 45 minutes. You may want to open windows and run a vent fan as the odor can be quite overbearing.
- Whisk vinegar into the mixture and cook a bit longer, stirring frequently. Cook about 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches your desired mustard consistency.
- Allow the mustard to cool to room temperature before prepping it for storage.
Making mustard is not a complicated process but it does take about an hour total and must be closely monitored and stirred often during the process.
Once it is made, you can simply store it in an airtight container of some sort. If you purchase mustard from the store, it will come in a container that closes and seals the air out in some manner. Some have a screw-top lid while some have a pop-up lid.
Storing Mustard – Refrigerator or Freezer
You should know the basics of storing your mustard before you decide just what you are going to do to store it. You might determine that the refrigerator will work just fine or you might decide you need to freeze your mustard. Let’s talk about some of the differences and processes.
Storing Mustard in the Refrigerator
Mustard can usually be stored at room temperature until it is opened. If you buy mustard from the store you will see the bottles typically instruct you to refrigerate after opening. Some mustard can be stored at room temperature.
However, the best way to preserve your mustard for the long haul is to safely store it sealed in an airtight manner in the refrigerator.
If you store the mustard at room temperature it will probably only stay good for about a month. But if you store your mustard in the fridge it will most likely stay good for up to a year.
You may need to shake your mustard each time to use it as sometimes the water in the mustard settles at the top and you will get a watery mixture from the bottle if you don’t shake it up. This is common in many condiments.
Storing Mustard in the Freezer
Storing mustard in the freezer doesn’t really make it last much longer but it might preserve it an extra 3 or 4 months. Storing mustard in the fridge lasts about 1 year but if you like to use things by the stamped “best by” date on the bottle you may want to take action rather than risk it.
If you’re going to store mustard in the freezer, chances are you won’t want to use an entire bottle when you are ready to use it so you should plan to store in individual servings. We recommend an ice tray. This works quite well.
Here are some steps to freezing mustard.
- Start by spooning the mustard into ice trays or some form of individual servings about this size.
- Pop the trays into the freezer and allow them to freeze. You will want to let them freeze like this for 1-3 days. You can leave them like this and just pop them out when you want them or you can move them to another storage option.
- If you don’t want to store in the ice trays indefinitely, move the frozen mustard cubes to either a freezer bag or an airtight container.
- Frozen mustard cubes are usually good for about 14-16 months.
When you are ready to use a mustard cube, you shouldn’t try to thaw it out in the microwave. This will most likely make it water but will also lose some of its freshness and the flavor will be affected.
The best way to use mustard after freezing is to put the cube into a container and run the container under warm or hot water until it thaws. Or you can move it to the fridge and let it thaw overnight.
Additionally, you can just set the frozen mustard cube out at room temperature for a few hours and allow it to thaw until it ready to be used.
If you freeze the mustard in individual servings it makes it much easier to just pull out a single serving or a couple of frozen cubes when you need some mustard and leave the other parts you don’t need in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Related Questions
We hope that you have found this guide to freezing mustard to be a good resource and that you feel as though you can freeze your mustard successfully or continue to store it in the fridge with the confidence it will last just fine.
We have put together a question and answer section that provides additional information. We hope that you will take a look at it and see if there is anything of value to you.
Does Mustard Have Health Benefits?
Mustard seeds are ground into mustard powder or dry mustard and then that in turn is used to make mustard. Mustard seeds have a lot of health benefits.
A few of the noteworthy health benefits of the mustard seed include magnesium, calcium, dietary fiber, zinc, iron, manganese, phosphorous, protein, and niacin.
Additionally, mustard appears to contain small amounts of antioxidants that can help with asthma, heart attacks, and potentially some cancers.
Can Mustard Be Bad for You?
As with anything, you should not mustard in access. While mustard has health benefits because of the mustard seed, high amounts of mustard seed can have ill effects on your body.
You shouldn’t have to worry about this when using mustard since the mustard seed is heavily diluted.
Does Mustard Go Bad?
Yes, it is entirely possible for mustard to go bad. However, mustard, if unopened and stored correctly, can keep for many years. How long the mustard stays good for will depend on lots of factors such as the ingredients and storage conditions.
If you want to learn more you can read my full article on whether mustard can go bad.