Note: Be careful with this recipe. I've had people E-mail me saying this recipe burned the skin on their chest! What follows is one of them...
Hi; I decided a few nights ago to apy a mustard plaster as I had heard my Mom talk about it years ago. Well I think I added 2 heaping tablespoons of powdered mustard, flour and water. Well I now have several blisters on my chest so I hope people will put several layers of fabric between the plaster and the skin. Still Burning...
Mix in lukewarm water to form a paste. Spread on a thin clean cloth and cover. Place on chest for 20 minutes (shorter time for small children). Be careful not to burn the skin. Remove the plaster and cover the chest with camphorated oil or Vicks. Then cover with warm fabric such as flannel or a towel. Repeat in 4 hours.
- 4 T. flour
- 2 tsp. oil
- 1 T. dry mustard
Grandma Mary Cowan
[Editor Note: You have to be careful with mustard plasters. A woman E-mailed me several months ago after trying a different mustard plaster recipe at this web site saying it gave her a very bad burn. This is powerful stuff!]
Your Comments:Hi, My mom used to put Vaseline on my skin before placing the Mustard Plaster on it. She said this would protect my skin from burning. Even though she would put fabric between it and my skin, she also used the Vaseline as well. She also made sure there was Vaseline on the skin around the edges of the Mustard Plaster. Also, she checked it often and as soon as my skin was red, she would remove it. If you go much longer than that, you'll get blisters. Hope this helps. Thanks, Liz Roehr
Try using whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and an egg white to prevent burning, but still check often.
Karen Kendrick
Thanks for the recipe of the mustard plaster, how I remember how it worked whem my Mother used to use it on her 6 children .... My wife has used it since but we forgot how to mix it & use it until now, thanks so much, gotta love these computers ... By the way I remember my Mother used to put the plaster in a brown paper bag once it was mixed & put it on our backs until the skin turned reddish then took the plaster off .... Don't recall ever using vaseline though but its a thought .... thought you might like to pass this on as well, thanks again, Ivan D. Vlahovic
MY mom taught us how to make a mustard plaster from the time I was about six years old. You NEVER NEVER EVER put the mustard plaster on bare skin. We always used a old tea towel and smeared the mustard plaster on it. Then we cover the chest with a tee shirt or another towel.
Put it on the tummy for a good 10-15 mins. Then put it on the back for another 10 to 15 mins.
I turned 65 last week and I still make this for my husband. We live in Manitoba so we do get colds occasionally.
My mom's recipe (she is now 91 years young and still has a great memory)
Equal parts of dry mustard and white flour. (example 2 tbsp mustard and 2 tbsp white flour) Add water and mix to a smooth paste.
I never heard of adding the oil. If it was hot no wonder the person got burnt.
We smear the plaster on half of the towel and then fold it over. We always washed the cloth out and then it could be reused.
Hopefully this will help those that want to make a milder one and I guarantee this does work.
Then my mom would come with 2 aspirins and a glass of hot lemonade.
She also would cover us up with lots of blankets to make sure we would sweat.Blessings for your day.
Annette Derksen
Copyright 1993 by Peggy Layton and Vicki Tate These recipes may be freely used for non-profit purposes as long as the book source and author remain intact. Express permission of the author, Vicki Tate, must be received for commercial profit.
Updated: 13 Mar 07