Chef Joost
Appelcompote
Appelcompote is the apple left with its dignity: soft enough to spoon beside pork or potatoes, still chunky enough to remind you autumn did the real work.
Culinary Explorer
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Mosterdsaus (Dutch Mustard Sauce)
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A spoonful of Dutch mustard turns a plain roux into the pale, sharp sauce that knows exactly what to do with eggs, fish, ham, and boiled potatoes.
Sauces & Condiments
Dutch
Weeknight
Dinner Party
5 min
Active Time
10 min cook•15 min total
Yield4 servings
In my grandmother's second notebook, mosterdsaus appears without ceremony, which is how you know it mattered. The grand dishes get titles and underlines. The dependable ones simply stand there in pencil: butter, flour, stock, mustard, cream. A sauce for boiled eggs when money was tight, for fish when the boats were kind, for ham when company came. History and cookery, they cannot be separated, but sometimes history arrives in a small saucepan.
The name already tells you the old journey. Mosterd comes through French from the world of mustum, grape must, because mustard seed was once mixed with young wine and made into that lovely, sharp paste the Romans carried north. The Dutch did what we so often do: kept the sharpness, made it useful, and put it beside potatoes. For obvious reasons, this is civilization.
But let me tell you a secret. The sauce is not about making mustard gentle. It is about giving mustard a warm coat so it can sit at the table with delicate things. The roux gives body, the stock gives savour, the cream rounds the edge, and the mustard goes in late so its bite survives. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: cook the flour properly, add the liquid patiently, and never boil the mustard as if it owes you money.
Mustard making has a long Dutch regional history, with known traditions in Doesburg, Groningen, and the Zaanstreek, each producing mustards with different grain, sharpness, and texture. The word mosterd entered Dutch through medieval French forms related to Latin mustum, grape must, reflecting the older European practice of mixing ground mustard seed with must or vinegar. Mosterdsaus belongs to the practical Dutch home-kitchen family of roux-based sauces, used especially with boiled eggs, white fish, ham, and gammon, where a small amount of sharp mustard made frugal ingredients taste deliberate.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
plain flour
Quantity
30g
warm stock
Quantity
250ml
chicken, vegetable, fish, or ham stock
cream
Quantity
100ml
Dutch mustard
Quantity
2 tablespoons
preferably coarse Groningen or Doesburg-style
white wine vinegar or pickle brine (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
salt and white pepper
Quantity
to taste
ground nutmeg (optional)
Quantity
a pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| unsalted butter | 30g |
| plain flour | 30g |
| warm stockchicken, vegetable, fish, or ham stock | 250ml |
| cream | 100ml |
| Dutch mustardpreferably coarse Groningen or Doesburg-style | 2 tablespoons |
| white wine vinegar or pickle brine (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| salt and white pepper | to taste |
| ground nutmeg (optional) | a pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Small heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Balloon whisk
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter
Melt the butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Let it foam, then settle, but don't let it brown. Mosterdsaus should be pale and warm-coloured, not nutty and dark.
- 2
Cook the roux
Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon or whisk and cook for two minutes, until it looks like wet sand and smells lightly biscuit-like. This little wait matters. Raw flour tastes like paste, and no mustard in the Netherlands is strong enough to hide it.
- 3
Add the stock
Pour in the warm stock a little at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth before adding more. At first it will seize into a thick lump, then loosen into a proper sauce. Keep your nerve; this is exactly what a roux does.
- 4
Finish gently
Stir in the cream and simmer for three to four minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Lower the heat, then whisk in the mustard. Taste before salting, especially if your stock came from ham or gammon, because pork stock can arrive already wearing its boots.
Use fish stock if the sauce is going over cod or haddock, ham stock for gammon, and vegetable stock for eggs or potatoes. The sauce is simple enough that the liquid announces itself. - 5
Sharpen and serve
Add the vinegar or pickle brine only if the sauce tastes too round, then finish with white pepper and a tiny pinch of nutmeg if you like. Serve at once over boiled eggs, white fish, ham, gammon, or new potatoes. It should pour in a pale ribbon and taste cleanly sharp, not heavy.
Chef Tips
- •Choose the mustard for the table in front of you. Coarse Groningen mustard gives grain and warmth, Doesburg-style mustard brings an old-fashioned rounded sharpness, and a very smooth mustard makes a neater sauce for fish.
- •Add mustard at the end. Long boiling dulls its sharp nose and turns a lively sauce into beige politeness, which is not what we came for.
- •If the sauce thickens while waiting, whisk in a spoonful of hot stock or water. A roux sauce is not fragile, only thirsty.
- •For eggs, use vegetable stock and a little pickle brine. For boiled gammon, use the cooking liquor and taste before adding salt. The pig has already spoken.
Advance Preparation
- •The roux can be made up to one day ahead, cooled, and refrigerated; rewarm gently before whisking in hot stock.
- •The finished sauce is best served immediately, but it can be held warm for 20 minutes over very low heat. Stir often and add the mustard only shortly before serving.
- •Leftover sauce keeps two days refrigerated. Reheat gently and loosen with a splash of stock or water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 105g)
Calories
145 calories
Total Fat
12 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
420 mg
Total Carbohydrates
8 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
3 g
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