Mustard oil useful properties

There are three varieties of mustard, the seeds of which serve as a seasoning. The first two species are closely related plants: Brassica nigra, or black mustard( homeland, probably the Middle East), and Brassica juncea, or brown mustard( homeland, probably China and India).It is their seeds that are processed and the product is used for medical purposes. The third species is Sinapis alba, also known as Brassica alba, or white mustard( homeland-Mediterranean).It is grown on seeds for breeding mustard and watercress. All of them belong to the family of cruciferous. On the spot the flowers then appear smooth, erect pods containing seeds. V. nigra is the largest species, reaching 2.4 m in height. These three varieties of mustard are found all over the world.

Mustard seeds were found in ancient Egyptian tombs along with other offerings, for example coriander seeds, parsley and lotus. Seeds and the plant itself are mentioned in the inscriptions on the stele and in the texts of papyri, dating back to the era of the first dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs. In Sanskrit texts the first mention is dated to 3000 BC.E., in connection with which there was a suggestion that mustard - one of the first spices mentioned in the written source.(Some sources state that it was cultivated in the stone and iron centuries.) Mustard was also known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. According to an ancient legend, the god of healing Asclepius and the goddess of fertility and seeds of Ceres acquainted a man with her. The Romans soaked the seeds in the Musta - the young wine. They brought her to Britain, and from there she landed with the first settlers in North America.

Great Britain and France are still famous for their mustard. The monastery of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is famous for the fact that for 10 years now the monks here have grown mustard. Since 1336, this plant has been produced and eaten in Burgundy. In 1 634 Dijon was given exclusive rights to produce mustard. In Britain, mustard has been known since the Roman times. The center of its production in Shakespeare's time was Tewkesbury. At the beginning of the XVIII century.an important center of its production was Durham, and 100 years later with the appearance of a certain Jeremiah Coleman in this area, the British mustard industry concentrated in Norwich and East England.

Mustard white and mustard black( Sinapis alba L., Brassica nigra( L.) Koch)

Both species are annual cruciferous plants, white mustard lower plant( 50-80 cm), black reaches a height of up to 1.5 m.

The flowers are yellow, the fruit is a pod, with small round seeds, in black - black or dark brown, and in white - light yellow.

The native land of this plant is Central Asia and Northern India, and now its range extends from Western Europe to the Himalayas and Japan, it is cultivated on the African continent and in North America.

Seeds contain 35% fatty oil, 3.5% essential oil in black and about 1% in white.

Mustard mustard( Brassica juncea( L.) Gzem)

Mustard Sareptian, or Russian, is an annual herbaceous plant of the cruciferous family, reaching 50-100 m in height, with a branchy stalk, light-green leaves and small yellow flowers. Blooms in May, the fruit ripens in June. Fruit is a linear pod with small globular black-gray, brown seeds. It's a hybrid of rape and mustard black. This kind of mustard got its name because in Russia for the first time mustard oil was obtained in 1810 in the city of Sarepta( near Tsaritsyn), now Krasnoarmeysk, Saratov province. For the first time in Europe, there was launched a mustard-and-oil plant, which processes the seeds of this plant. Mustard is widely distributed in India, Japan, China, where there is a wide variety of its varieties and forms. As a weed plant, the Sarept mustard is found in crops near housing in the European part of Russia, in Siberia, the Far East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Cultivate it in Kyrgyzstan, the Lower Volga region and the North Caucasus.

Ways of using

In the Middle Ages preference was given to white mustard as a more tender and less burning. And now white mustard seeds are used mainly as an oilseed raw material, while black seeds are more widely used. Seeds of white mustard are used for various diseases: vascular sclerosis, hypertension, liver and gallbladder diseases, digestive disorders, flatulence, rheumatism, sciatica, skin eczema.

White mustard seeds have a more tender and piquant taste, black - an extremely sharp, tart taste that resembles horseradish. White mustard is used whole or in a ground state in the canning industry and in the household. Black - mainly in pharmaceuticals for the manufacture of various galenical preparations and mustard plasters, mustard oil is used in soap making.

Mustard seeds are used in canning vegetables, mushrooms, fish, in the preparation of dishes from white cabbage and red cabbage. But the greatest number of seeds is spent on the preparation of mustard. Each producer, depending on the spices used, receives a different taste of mustard. There are two main types - French and mustard with horseradish. Mustard with horseradish is made from a mixture of seeds of white and black mustard coarsely ground or crushed.

Table mustard is prepared from black mustard seeds. For this 50 g of mustard powder pour 60 ml of boiling water and how to stir so that there are no lumps. Then gradually add another 125 grams of water, no longer stirring, so that the water lingered over the gruel. Let stand for 7-12 hours - thus the bitterness and strong smell of mustard disappears. Then drain the water, add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the gruel, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and, continuously stirring, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

The taste of the finished mustard can be made a variety by adding other seasonings: infusion of ground cloves or black pepper, nutmeg or cardamom.

Before use, allow the mustard to settle and ferment for another 2-3 days. Store in a tightly closed glass bowl in a dark and cool place.

Mustard is added to mayonnaise, sauces for filling different salads. They are given to baked meat, sausages, boiled sausages, poultry, tongue, ham served both in a warm and in a cold form.

Fresh mustard leaves have a tender taste and contain a lot of vitamin C, so it is bred as a ripe salad plant in an open and protected ground. In the seeds of mustard contains 23-27% of fatty oil, which finds application in cooking, bakery and confectionery industry, as well as in textile and soap production. From the defatted seeds prepare the table mustard. When processing the powder with warm water( but not above 50 ° C), the special myrosin enzyme in the mustard cleaves sinigrin into glucose, acidic potassium sulfate and allyl mustard oil. It is this that determines the specific burning taste of mustard.

Mustard stimulates appetite, strengthens the secretion of gastric juice and improves digestion with its lethargy and propensity to constipation. However, in cases of kidney disease and pulmonary tuberculosis, it is not recommended to use mustard.

For colds, pleurisy, rheumatism, radiculitis usually used mustard, and when cooling and the first signs of cold make mustard foot bath( 2 tablespoons per bucket of water).

In arthritis, rheumatic pain: in 100 g of alcohol dissolve 50 g of camphor, and then 50 g of mustard powder. Separately, whip 100 g of egg white and combine both compounds. Rub into a sore spot before going to bed.

Thanks to the strong phytoncidal effect, mustard is used in the food industry when storing spoiled products. In everyday life the powder of mustard serves as a good detergent, it is washed with glass and enameled dishes, woolen things are washed in it. To do this, 100 g of powder is dissolved in a small amount of lukewarm water, and then the solution is stirred in a bucket of water and allowed to settle. The temperature of the water for washing should not be more than 45.

You can prepare an effective mask for pale, fading skin from the mustard powder.1 teaspoon of dry mustard dilute 1 teaspoon of water and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Keep this mask on your face need no more than 5 minutes. Then wash it off first with a warm, followed by cold water. After that, apply a day or moisturizing cream appropriate to the skin type.

In the cooking of mustard, a lot of sauces are prepared, which are served to sausages, fish, poultry, cold boiled or fried meat. For example, one that was prepared in the old days: 1 large glass - ready-made mustard, raw yolks, white table wine, vinegar( 5%), meat broth, melted butter, sugar( for those who do not like sweets, sugar can bereduce it by half) into an enamel pot. Thoroughly mix everything, salt to taste, put on fire and cook, continuously stirring, until thick( but not boiled).Cool it down. This sauce can be stored in the cold for quite some time.

No less tasty mustard with honey according to the recipe of our great-grandmothers: mix the dry mustard powder with an equal amount of honey, stirring and grinding the resulting mixture, gradually adding the vinegar warmed to 50 ° C( 5%) until a mass of the desired density is formed. Close the lid tightly and leave for a week. Mustard so delicious, the longer it is rubbed.

Honey mustard helps to remove toxic substances from the body, improves kidney function, is used as a diuretic.

Essential oil

Description. Mustard seeds contain from 30 to 35% of the oil. Before distillation, the seeds should be crushed and soaked in warm water, so that the oil is released as a result of fermentation. The fact is that the so-called mustard oils, or isothiocyanates, in the living plant are inactive. Only when the tissue is destroyed and impregnated with moisture, enzymes secrete oils.

Essential oil is very liquid, almost colorless, slightly giving off into yellowness. The aroma is very spicy, strong, from which watery eyes( as from horseradish).In daylight, the oil acquires a reddish-brown color and leaves a thick layer on the inside walls of the container.

Main components: allyl isothiocyanate( allylsenevol).

Caution. This essential oil is not easy to get. It is very strong, and there were many cases when as a result of a violation of the proportions on the skin burns appeared. Those who suffer from nervous disorders or allergies, its use is contraindicated, since it can lead to deterioration of the skin.

Application of

For medicinal purposes. Oil is applied externally with neuralgia and pain due to rheumatism, sciatica and lumbago. If you are sure that there will be no harmful consequences, rub a small amount of oil with massage movements into the affected area of ​​the skin for several days. Relief will come very quickly.(According to theory, as a result of the irritating effect of mustard on the skin, blood flows to its surface and the inflammation in the deeper layer of the subcutaneous tissue decreases.) You will get the same effect if fresh mustard seeds rubbed to consistency paste on the poultice. It is also used for coughing, colds, pulmonary diseases. If you are too lazy to bother with it, get mustard powder.

Try not to treat the skin around the eyes with mustard oil, because when the oil gets into the eye, strong rubbers begin. If you are not saved, then rinse your eyes with cold water and apply a compress with chamomile or rose.

In the UK and in France, foot baths with mustard have long been accepted. In the US, a paste made from mustard seeds and other ingredients is sold as a warming foot cream to skiers and walkers.

In cooking

Only seeds are used in cooking( edible, however, and leaves).Green South American mustard comes from the African variety. Most of the seeds are ground and ground to a powdery state and various varieties of mustard are obtained. In the one that is darker, the shell remains on the seeds. Mustard has long been seasoned with meat to hide the signs of possible damage. However, the seeds have antipollution properties, and therefore they are put in pickles. Mustard seeds and oil are widely used in Indian cuisine.

Method of preparation of dry English mustard: mix with cold water( hot inactivates enzymes), hold for 10 minutes, so that caustic substances come out of the oils. If the mustard is put into the food during cooking, then it should be added at a later stage and gradually.