Mustard Seeds Health Benefits

Mustard Seeds (Rai)

Mustard Seeds (Rai)/Brassica alba, B. juncea, B. Nigra Family: Cruciferae/Brassicaceae

Mustard seeds have been the most ancient spices and one of the widely used, commonly named Rai. These are tiny round reddish brown to black coloured seeds, mainly used in Indian cooking. They are used whole, as a paste, in powdered form or in broken pieces. Mustard seeds are commonly used to flavour vegetables, pickles while tempering (Tadka) and pulses in Indian cooking. In north India, mustard plant leaves are used as a vegetable commonly named as Sarson.

Seeds can come from three different plants, black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown Indian mustard (Brassica juncea), and white mustard (Brassica hirta/Sinapis alba).

Mustard seeds are thought to ward off evil. In Indian cuisine, seeds are used in spice blends, curries, vegetable dishes and marinades.

Yellow Mustard Flower

Black mustard seeds come from an annual herb that normally grows to a height of 10 feet. In India, yellow and brown mustard seeds are much commonly used.

Yellow mustard seeds even known as white are native to southern Europe, while brown mustard seeds known as black are native to India. The raw seeds have little aroma but, once cooked, they develop a definite earthy scent and slightly bitter, nutty flavour. Almost every Indian cuisine consists of mustard seeds as a primary ingredient. The brown mustard is largely cultivated and produces tiny yellow flowers that nearly cover the whole plant. White mustard is the mildest one among all the varieties of mustards. Mustard seed has a fresh aroma and slightly biting flavour but when seeds are dried they bring a wonderful fragrance all around.

White Mustard Plant

Mustard is an erect annual herb cultivated as oil seed crop or as vegetable or as fodder, of which three species are known for its condiment value. They are pale yellow or white mustard (Brassica hirta), brown mustard (Brassica juncea) and black mustard (Brassica nigra). The leaves of mustard plant are long, hairy, petiolate, alternate and bristly arranged, on both sides of a branch. Flowers are small, yellow with four petals, cruciform in shape and seeds are 1.5-3mm in size.

Mustard prefers loamy or clayey loam soil and is grown as rabi crop in North India. It grows during the rainy season from July to November in South India. The

mustard pods are mainly harvested before they burst, that is when they are almost completely developed but not ripe.

Yellow Mustard Seeds

Yellow/White Mustard (Brassica alba or Brassica hirta) are round hard seeds with a beige or straw coloured. The plant grows up to 80 cm in height and is hardy, with lobed leaves and hairy stems. It bears bright yellow flowers that yield hairy fruit pods which are 2.5-5 cm in length and each contains about six seeds. Before sale, the outer skin of these seeds is removed.

Black Mustard Seeds

Black Mustard (Brassica nigra) is round hard seeds, varying in colour from dark brown to black. They are usually small in size and much more pungent than the white mustard seeds which reach to 1 m in height. Some varieties reach double this height. The plant bears small flowers and fruit pods that are about 2 cm in length.

These pods are bulging with a smooth outer surface and contain about a dozen seeds.

Brown Mustard (Brassica juncea) is similar in size to the black variety but varies in colour from light to dark brown. They are comparatively less pungent than the black mustard but more than the white mustard. It is commonly known as Rai in India. The plant has oval leaves with pods 3-5 cm long.

Brown Mustard Seeds

Mustard is commonly used in Indian, French, German and Irish cuisines. Mustard is used in salad dressings, cheese dishes, pickles and vegetables. It is also added to butter so as to provide butter with pleasant flavour. White mustard is most commonly used in pickling spice and in spice mixtures for cooking several recipes due to its milder flavour and good preservative qualities. It adds a special flavour to Sauerkraut (Sour cabbage) and is at times used in marinades. In India, whole seeds are fried in ghee/oil until the seed pops which provides a milder nutty flavour that is applied as a seasoning for Indian dishes. The brown seed is pestle with other spices in preparation of curry powders and pastes. Mustard is commonly used as an ingredient in mayonnaise, vinaigrette, marinades, and barbecue sauce. It can also be used as a base for salad dressing when combined with vinegar and/or olive oil.

Mustard Oil

Mustard oil consists of a strong sinus-irritating aroma, a hot nutty taste, and is mainly used for cooking in several parts of India. Mustard oil is mainly extracted from the chaff and meal of the seed that is widely used in India in the same way as any other oil or ghee. Powdered mustard is usually made from white mustard seed and is often called mustard flour. Powdered mustard acts as an emulsifier in the preparation of mayonnaise and salad dressings. It is very concentrated hence is used in food preparation rather than a post preparation condiment. Also it is useful for flavouring barbecue sauces, baked beans, beets and succotash (a mixture of boiled corn kennels and lima beans) etc. There are many ready-made types of mustard from mild and sweet to sharp and strong. These are normally smooth or coarse and flavoured with a wide variety of herbs, spices and liquids. Mustard and ground mustard has preservative and antioxidant properties in addition to providing flavour and colour.

Mustard Powder

Mustard has always held an important place in medicine since ancient times. It is considered as a gift to mankind in the form of a healing agent. Although, the volatile oil of mustard is a powerful irritant which is capable of blistering the skin but when used in diluted form it soothes and creates a warm sensation on skin.

Mustard plasters are the best counter irritants. Mustard has been prescribed for snake bites and scorpion stings, toothache, bruises, stiff neck, respiratory troubles, epilepsy, colic and rheumatism. It is at times used to induce vomiting. It simulates the blood circulation in the pain area, in turn helps to relieve pain thus is quite advisable in muscular and skeletal pains. Mustard tea is recommended to provide good relief while in fever, cold and bronchitis. There has been recent research into varieties of mustards that have high oil content for use in the production of biodiesel, a renewable liquid fuel similar to diesel fuel. The leftover portion after pressing out the oil has been found to be an effective pesticide. Mustard is found to be a good remedy for several problems but all these could vary from person to person when used.

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