Brown Mustard

Food

The leaves, the seeds, and the stem of this mustard variety are edible. The plant appears in some form in African, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and soul food cuisine. Cultivars of "B. juncea" are grown as greens, and for the production of oilseed. In Russia, this is the main variety grown for production of mustard oil, which after refining is considered one of the best vegetable oils. It is widely used in canning, baking and margarine production in Russia, and the majority of table mustard there is also made from this species of mustard plant.

The leaves are used in African cooking, and leaves, seeds, and stems are used in Indian cuisine, particularly in mountain regions of Nepal, as well as in the Punjab cuisine of India and Pakistan, where a famous dish called "sarson da saag" is prepared. "B. juncea" subsp. "tatsai", which has a particularly thick stem, is used to make the Indian pickle called "achar", and the Chinese pickle "zha cai". The mustard made from the seeds of the "B. juncea" is called brown mustard. The leaves and seeds are used in many Indian dishes.

The Gorkhas of Darjeeling and Sikkim prepare pork with mustard greens. It is usually eaten with relish with steamed rice, but could also be eaten with "chapati".

"Brassica juncea" is more pungent than the closely related "Brassica oleracea" greens, and is frequently mixed with these milder greens in a dish of "mixed greens", which may include wild greens such as dandelion. As with other greens in soul food cooking, mustard greens are generally flavored by being cooked for a long period with ham hocks or other smoked pork products. Mustard greens are high in vitamin A and vitamin K.

Chinese and Japanese cuisines also make use of mustard greens. In Japanese cuisine it is known as "takana" and is often pickled and used as filling in onigiri or as a condiment. A large variety of "B. juncea" cultivars are used, including "zha cai", "mizuna", "takana", "juk gai choy", and "xuelihong", Baby Mustard, Chinese Leaf Mustard and Mostaza."B. juncea" can hyperaccumulate cadmium and many other soil trace elements. Specially cultured, it can be used as a selenium, chromium, iron and zinc food supplement.