Description of White Mustard Plant, its Culinary Uses, and ‎Medicinal Importance

Common Name: White Mustard

Scientific Name: White Mustard (Sinapis alba L.), belonging to the Brassicaceae family, which is part of the order Brassicales, and the class Angiosperms.

Description: White mustard is an annual plant from the Brassicaceae family, cultivated for its seeds. It is used to make mustard spice, as a forage crop, and as green manure. It is a herbaceous plant that grows in winter; erect and branching; covered with scattered hairs; originating from a taproot. It can reach a length or height of 1.5 meters and is usually covered with stiff, inflexible hairs, but sometimes smooth. The leaves are petiolate, alternate, ovate or obovate, 8 cm long and 4 cm wide, with a blade divided into 3-5 rounded segments. The leaves are usually spiny (hairy).

The flowers are yellow, in oblong, hairy clusters, and conspicuous. The fruits are broad-beaked, flattened pods, 10-30 mm long, and thin; each pod contains 4-8 spherical seeds, yellowish to light brown, 2 mm in diameter. The inner layer contains a gelatinous or mucilaginous substance, and the cotyledons contain a pungent, odorless oil.

Culinary Uses: White mustard is used as a spice, and its seeds are a major source of mustard spice. When produced for home use, it is known as table mustard.

German or Dutch mustard is made by adding vinegar to a mixture of coarsely ground white, brown, or black mustard seeds, which have a pungent aroma. German or Dutch mustard has a milder flavor than French mustard, which is made from either brown or black mustard seeds.

In Europe and North America, it is common to make mustard at home by grinding the seeds into large granules using a special metal ball in a bowl, then mixing vinegar with the resulting granules. Other herbs can be added to the resulting mustard according to taste and tradition. Sugar, honey, or starches can be added for a milder flavor. Many different methods are used by manufacturers to produce mustard.

In cooking, mustard is primarily used in meat dishes, sauces, fish, salads, and snacks to enhance their flavor and aroma. Whole white mustard seeds are used in pickling, sauerkraut, sour grass (shredded cabbage fermented with lactic acid bacteria), and to season fish marinade. Legally, white mustard is considered safe in the United States.

The golden-yellow oil extracted from the seeds is mixed with mayonnaise and used in cooking. Brown mustard oil is also used for lubrication and lighting.

The seedlings (mustard sprouts) are eaten raw in salads and sandwiches. The leaves are sometimes used to season dishes.

In temperate regions, white mustard is widely used as a green manure; some varieties reduce the number of nematode cysts in the soil.

Medicinal Uses: White mustard has medicinal uses. Its use dates back to ancient civilizations in the Middle East, Greece, and India. White mustard seeds are used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, irritant, and stimulant. The seed oil is used internally and externally to treat tumors. Tea made from the seeds is used to treat sore throats, relieve bronchitis, and alleviate rheumatism.