This sauce or “dressing” is a combination that can be used for many things.  As a salad dressing, as a marinade for chicken or beef, or as a sauce when you just want a burst of flavor – like on a bowl of rice.  Tasty on an avocado too. Think about soy or Worcestershire sauce. Kinda like that but without the allergens of soy and anchovies.

A Simple Sauce

Yep. Really simple.

Make ahead and just leave this sauce on the counter as a cooking condiment. It has the salt and pepper already, and best of all, the pepper, and mustard, and honey have all sat in the vinegar for a while, melding and infusing it with flavor.

This is not a fermented sauce like soy or W sauce (more below). Indeed, it is a sauce that is shelf stable at room temperature and will not ferment. I am going to investigate making a fermented sauce with honey (since September is National Honey Month) but that will have to be a future post.

Honey Mustard Sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Why Rice Vinegar?

Rice vinegar is a milder, less acidic vinegar. This results in a milder flavor to the sauce. I feel that it blends better taste-wise with the above mentioned salads, but also on meats. There is something called vinegar beef made with apple cider vinegar, and some people like it (but not everybody). A red wine vinegar also does well in this sauce, pairing nicely with the honey.

You can use apple cider vinegar if you wish. Here is how to make your own apple scrap vinegar.

For a stronger flavor try our pine infused vinegar.

You could also read that post about infusing flavor and start NOW – in September – to make some tasty homemade gifts for the holidays, like this pomegranate infused vinegar.

Acid Levels in Common Vinegars

rice    = 4 percent
apple cider = 5 percent
balsalmic = 6 percent
malt = 6 percent
red wine = 5 percent
champagne = 5 percent
white = 5 percent
palm = 5 percent

About “W” Sauce

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Lea and William Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, in the early 19th century. The inventors went on to form the company Lea & Perrins. “Worcestershire sauce” has been a generic term since 1876, when the English High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own a trademark for the name “Worcestershire. A trick question on one of my Journalism exams was whether or not the name should be written with capital letter.

Wikipedia shares that … “The precise recipe has been a trade secret, but an original 19th-century list of ingredients includes vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies, tamarind extract, onions, garlic, cloves, soy sauce, lemons, pickles and peppers.  The current recipe includes vinegar (malt in the UK, white vinegar in the U.S.), molasses, sugar, water, salt, onions, anchovies, garlic, cloves, tamarind extract, natural flavorings, and chili pepper extract.

Worcestershire sauce is used as … “both a background flavour and a source of umami (savoury), it is now also added to dishes that historically did not contain it, such as chili con carne, beef stew and baked beans.”

About Soy Sauce

Like W sauce, soy sauce is a fermented sauce. Soy sauce is traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, salt brine, and Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds. And yes, these molds closely related to – indeed are in the same fungus genus as – the mold that grows in dam houses and makes them uninhabitable to sensitive individuals.

Our Honey Cookbook

We have this great little cookbook (IMHO) for sale when we are out there making our public appearances.  Since there is already Christmas things in some stores – I will add this – our little cookbook is priced low enough to make a nice stocking stuffer! If you go to the book sale site and want to order more than one copy – just click on the “Special Orders” tab. (which should work soon.  There is a bug and I am working on it.)

Using Honey in New and Savory Ways offers 36 pages of tips for using honey in your cooking, as well as in all manner of dishes. A steal at only $6!

We hope you will help support some local Southwest folks!
From the review:
“Honey is for more than desserts – and this book can help! Using honey in cooking savory dishes helps engage all your taste buds and adds a layer of added flavor to everyday dishes – plus holiday fare.”

Beekeeper?  We offer volume discounts – because if you sell in local markets you might want to offer some of these books as well.

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Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.