Mostarda

Fruit in a mustard syrup

Mostarda is a condiment of whole or chopped fruit candied in sugar syrup and given a sharp mustard note. It belongs to northern Italy, mainly to the plain between Mantua and Cremona, and it is served with the boiled meats of the region and with cheese. Its character is a sweet, hot contrast: the fruit is soft and glossy, and the syrup is pungent from the mustard. Mostarda di frutta is the name for the fruit version, and the same name is used for syrupy and chopped preparations.

Because the fruit is candied whole, mostarda sits between a preserve and a condiment. A fruit with a firm skin keeps its shape. The sauce-like and chopped forms are closer to a relish than to a jam.

Voghera and the 1397 letter

The earliest documented mostarda is from Voghera. In a letter dated 7 December 1397, the chancellor of Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti asked the podesta of Voghera to have the apothecary Pietro de Murri make the mostarda, which the duchess Caterina enjoyed and which was to be served at Christmas. The producer of Mostarda di Voghera gives the letter's Italian wording as mostarda de fructa cum la senavra, a fruit mostarda with mustard.

One blog cites a document of 1393 from the same duke, which the regional and producer pages do not confirm. The Voghera letter is therefore the earliest dated reference used here.

Making the fruit and the syrup

The fruit is selected for ripeness and then immersed in heated sugar syrup. The Lombardy regional page describes this candying stage as slow, lasting four to ten days depending on the fruit, and it stops when the sugar content of the fruit reaches 70 per cent. No rest periods are given for the candying stage.

Mustard is added last, just before packing. Commercial makers use mustard essence, which keeps the syrup clear; Wikipedia records that mustard powder heated in white wine can be used at home. The page gives no time or quantity for this seasoning, so the sharpness is a matter of taste and of the maker's practice.

Cremona, Mantua and Vicenza

The Cremona version is the best-known form of mostarda di frutta, and the regional page says it holds a large share of the market in northern Italy. Mostarda di Mantova is made from small, sour green apples called mele campanine. Mostarda vicentina, from Vicenza in Veneto, uses quince and has a jam-like consistency. Each is a regional form, and their fruit and textures differ, so they are separate records.

Fruit in mustard syrup has also been adapted for modern shops, with more fruit kinds and glucose used in place of some sugar. Those adaptations are commercial and are not the historical recipe.

Serving

Traditionally the mostarda accompanies boiled meats, notably bollito misto, the mixed boiled meats of northern Italy. More recently it is served with cheeses such as crescenza, taleggio and mascarpone, and with cured meats including cotechino, according to the regional page.