The Culinary Mustards

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

YELLOW OR WHITE MUSTARD: (Sinapis alba).  'Sinapis' is the Greek name
for mustard and the word from which the German word for mustard,
'senf', is derived.  (The species may also be offered as 'Brassica
alba' or 'B. hirta')  This is the species whose seed is most commonly
used in American prepared mustards.  (The brassy yellow color or many
prepared mustards comes from the addition of turmeric or other food
coloring.) Although some yellow mustard seed is used in English
mustards, it is forbidden in the classic Dijon mustards. The seeds,
which are a warm beige and somewhat larger than those of black and
brown mustards, are sometimes sprouted for use in salads. Plants
usually grow 1 to 2 feet tall.  BLACK MUSTARD: (Brassica nigra).  The
seeds of black mustard are dark  brown and about 1/16 inch in diameter.
The black mustard plant can  grow as tall as 10 feet, but 5 or 6 feet
is more usual. This is the  most pungent of the mustards and a prolific
seed producer, but its  height and the instability of its pods make it
difficult to harvest  with machinery. Thus, it is not widely cultivated
commercially and is  available mostly through specialty stores.  BROWN
MUSTARD: (B. juncea).  Brown mustard seeds are similar in size  and
color to those of black mustard, but significantly less pungent.  The
plant is only about half as tall as black mustard (about 4 feet)  and
much more easily cultivated, and it has largely replaced black  mustard
as a cultivated crop.  Some 250,000 acres of prairie in  Canada are
planted to brown and yellow mustard.  Numerous cultivars  of this
species have been bred for their lively, nutritious greens,  which are
especially highly regarded in Asia, but these are not the  cultivars
used for seed production.  Source: Barbara Bassett in 'The Herb
Companion' * (August/September  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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