WHEN it comes to cutting the mustard, award-winning mustard maker Bruce Young from Hailey comes up trumps every time.

From the mid-1990s he has been creating unique and tasty mustards, first selling them in local shops, then later at food fairs, and farmers’ markets.

The number of outlets now selling the mustards produced at Shaken Oak Farm has gradually increased over the years – they are even available in London hotels and restaurants now.

Mustard is one of those wonderful ingredients we often take for granted.

I believe Mr Coleman once boasted that he had made his fortune from the amount of mustard left on the plate.

Bruce Young makes his money from the exciting range of flavours he has created, which include Oxford Mustard, devised to coincide with Oxfordshire’s 1,000 anniversary, Chilli Mustard, which is not for the faint-hearted, and Old Hooky Beer mustard, a medium-strength mix which calls for Old Hooky ale from Oxfordshire’s Hook Norton Brewery for its interesting flavour.

Now he has come up with a mustard rub. He says that a rub seemed to be a natural development after all the flavoured mustards he has created.

Bruce has tried and tested some Asian spice mixes in the hope they would inspire him and also some rubs from America, but they don’t always contain mustard, which is what got him thinking of a mustard rub.

When Bruce first told me about his new rub I admit to assuming it was something you put into the bath.

Not so. It does just what it says on the tin and that’s nothing to do with bringing relief to aches and pains or soothing and invigorating a tired body.

This ingenious rub seasons meat and fish when carefully rubbed into the flesh, and can also be sprinkled on to vegetables while they cook.

It wasn’t until the Tudor period that English herbalists and physicians accepted that the gastronomic virtues of mustard were as important as its medicinal powers.

John Gerard, the 16th century botanist and herbalist, praised mustard on both accounts in his medicinal herbal of 1597.

Not only did he suggest it was good for the digestion, provoking appetite and warming of the stomach, but it helped sciatica and appeased toothache when chewed.

I was invited to be one of the members of Bruce’s tasting panel to test his latest creation through its various stages of development to the finished product.

I admit to finding it delicious, particularly when a couple of pinches are tossed into a stir fry, or rubbed on to a chicken before placing it into the oven.

It takes Bruce about six months from start to finish to create a new product.

He said: “I get bursts of enthusiasm and creativity, then have to get back to my first priority – mustard production as I’m a one-man band, though I admit that once I have a new idea, I do find myself rushing into my workshop to begin experimenting.”

It took him more than six different attempts to get the mustard rub mixture to the point it could be tried and tested.

“It’s all a matter of getting the correct balance between mustard and the other ingredients. Of course, I also have to take into account the overall cost of the product, packaging and retail price.”

When I first wrote about Bruce’s mustards in the mid-1990’s, I described him as an alchemist – nothing has changed, that is exactly what he is.

He admits being lucky to have such a broad spectrum of friends and professional acquaintances who are happy to help with the final tasting.

Amone them is licensee Jon Oldham of The Royal Oak, in Ramsden, who has used his products since Bruce first began putting them on the market and says the mustard rub is a “real rooster booster”.

Speaking of his tasting panel, Bruce said: “They really seem to enjoy being guinea pigs for any new product I bring out and are objective, which is what’s needed.

“It would certainly not help if they said they liked it if they didn’t.”

His tasting panel consists of some expert cooks too, who are prepared to test it in the kitchen as well, often coming up with some fantastic ways of cooking with mustard, most admitting that you don’t have to use large amounts of the mustard mix to enhance a recipe.

Often just a pinch will do to add a touch of flavoursome magic to a dish.

Take Bruce’s idea of adding a pinch to scrambled eggs, for example.

He said: “I was cooking the eggs for my breakfast, tasted them before spooning them on to the toast to make sure I had added enough salt and suddenly thought ‘mustard rub’. I wasn’t sure it would work – but it did.

“Just a pinch, that was all that was needed to transform an ordinary breakfast dish. The trick is to add it sparingly,” he said.

Look out for Shaken Oak mustard rub and Bruce’s range of mustards at Charlbury and Deddington farmers’ markets, at selected shops and supermarkets in West Oxfordshire or go to Bruce’s website shakenoak.co.uk for more information or to buy online.