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Mostarda di Cremona / Mantova / Voghera

Mostarda · Mostarda di Cremona, Mantova and Voghera · Mostarda di Cremona

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A northern Italian condiment of candied fruit in syrup, flavoured with mustard. Its earliest documented link to Cremona is an 1604 printed recipe, which dates the record, not the invention.

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Photograph of Mostarda di Cremona / Mantova / Voghera.

What mostarda is

Mostarda is a fruit condiment rather than a table mustard. Fruit is candied slowly in a sugar syrup and then given its heat with mustard essence, which is a strong flavouring and is not dosed by guesswork.

Mostarda di Cremona is one of several regional forms of the condiment, named for Cremona, Mantua and Voghera. Each has its own fruit mix and its own tradition of how the mustard is added.

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The Cremona record

The 1604 recipe in Ouverture de cousine is the earliest document that ties mostarda to Cremona. Cremona's own notes describe it as close to the modern recipe. Later Cremona records, including a recipe from 1666 and one in a manual of 1884, list fruit and honey or sugar with mustard, and their fruit lists differ.

Accounts do not agree on the exact fruit lists or on where the 1604 text was printed. Most accept the Liege print as the earliest documented link to Cremona.

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Why the process has its stages

Slow candying in syrup preserves the fruit by sugar and gives it a glossy, soft texture. The mustard is added after candying so that its heat does not cook away in the syrup. Adding it with care matters because mustard essence is strong.

Modern records do not give quantities or temperatures for the syrup. The stages are the regional method as described in regional sources, not a validated process.

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Eating it

Mostarda is served with boiled meats and cheese. Its sweet and hot balance is the point of the condiment, and its use is the reason the recipe persists in the region.

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History

The earliest documented link to Cremona is a recipe titled Pour faire moutarde de Cremone in Ouverture de cousine by Lancelot de Casteau, printed in Liege in 1604. Municipal notes from Cremona say it is not very different from today's recipe. Later Cremona records include a 1666 recipe and a manual of 1884. The 1604 date is the earliest dated attestation, not the invention date.

Ingredients

PearsAmong the fruits the recipes name; the mix varies.
Quantity not given
Quince (optional)Among the fruits the recipes name.
Quantity not given
Candied fruitMixed fruit candied slowly in syrup.
Quantity not given
SugarMade into the syrup the fruit is candied in.
Quantity not given
MustardMustard essence, dosed with care; the sources give no amount.
Quantity not given

Method

  1. Candy the mixed fruit slowly in a sugar syrup.
  2. Flavour the fruit with mustard essence, adding it with care because it is strong.
  3. Serve the mostarda with meat and cheese, as the Lombardy regional sources describe.

Places

No source in this record establishes a place.

Related

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