Mustard white and black

Sinapis alba, Brassica nigra( .)

Both species are very similar. This is an annual plant, reaching a height of 30-80 cm. The history of mustard is very ancient, and although mustard species were used in ancient Greece and Rome, they can be considered to be Asia.

Description: leaves mustard white lyre-shaped, pinnately-divided, and black mustard - lyre-shaped, pinnately incised and even lobed. Both species are very similar to the field mustard ( Sinapis arvensis L.). The flowers are yellow. Fruit is a pod filled with small round seeds. Seeds of mustard white light yellow color, in black - seeds are dark brown.

Under the name "mustard" are combined the genera Sinapis and Brassica. Genus Sinapis has 7-10 annual plant species. In culture white mustard is grown, or the English ( Sinapis). Three kinds of mustard are cultivated from the genus Brassica : Sareptian, or bluish ( B. juncea), black ( V. nigra) and Abyssinian ( B. carinata).

Composition: seeds contain 35

% of fatty oil( Oleum sinapis) and approximately 1 % of the allylic oil ( O. sinapis aetherum). The active ingredient is glycoside synigrin( in mustard white sinalbin) and potassium salt of myosalic acid. Sinigrin in the presence of water turns into mirosin.

Cultivation: grows well on nutritious lime soils. White mustard as a whole is very unpretentious and does not require special care. Black mustard is more thermophilic. Both species are cultivated for the sake of seeds. The preparation of the soil for planting mustard is in its digging for the winter and composting. If compost was introduced in the fall, no additional fertilizer in the spring is required. Sowing is carried out in April in the open ground in rows at a distance of 20 cm. Do not place mustard on the bed after growing cabbage, as both plants are prone to cabbage keel.

Collection: seeds are harvested after the pods mature.

Medicinal properties: Mustard powder is made from ground mustard seeds, from which a mustard paste is used, used in the manufacture of mustard plasters and pepper plasters, which are used for colds and for pain relief for rheumatism. Seeds of white mustard are also used for various diseases - vascular sclerosis, hypertension, liver and gallbladder diseases, digestive disorders, flatulence, rheumatism, sciatica and skin eczema.

Application: 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 form for canning in the household, black mustard is used mainly in pharmaceuticals for the manufacture of various galenic preparations, mustard plasters and pepper plaster. Allylic essential oil, contained in mustard, is used in medicine in the form of mustard alcohol( 2% solution of oil in alcohol) as an external irritant and distracting agent. As a home remedy stimulates appetite and improves digestion( fresh or squeezed juice), irritates the skin receptors and exerts a warming effect when applied topically( mustard).Be careful when using! Mustard seed is used in canning vegetables, mushrooms, fish, in cooking vegetable dishes, meat soups, minced meat, etc. Mustard powder is used in the preparation of beef and pork, various game, cold and hot sauces and gravy. But the greatest number of seeds is used for the production of mustard. And although almost every 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 prepared from a mixture of seeds of white and black mustard coarsely ground or crushed. Seeds of black mustard give it a specific taste.