Brassica nigra Black mustard (Cruciferae)

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Brassica nigra
Black mustard
(1 Page of 5)

The Brassica nigra plant species is found in C. Europe. Occasionally naturalized in S.W. Britain[17]. It is a member of the Cruciferae family. Common gardeners may know the plant as Black mustard. Some home gardeners know the variety as Sinapis nigra.

Cultivation | Propagation | General Uses
Medicinal | Edible Uses

Latin Name:  Brassica nigra
Common Name:  Black mustard
Family:  Cruciferae
Author:  (L.)Koch.

Known Hazards:  When eaten in large quantities, the seed and pods have sometimes proved toxic to grazing animals[85].

Mature Height:  1.2   Mature Width:  0.6

Habitat:  Cliffs near the sea in S. W. England[17].

Edible Uses: Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 85, 100]. A hot flavour, they can be finely chopped and added to salads or cooked as a potherb[183]. The seedlings can also be used as a salading when about one week old, adding a hot pungency to a salad[2, 27, 183, K]. Immature flowering stems - cooked and eaten like broccoli[183]. Mustard seed is commonly ground into a powder and used as a food flavouring and relish[4, 5, 17, 27, 34]. This is the black mustard of commerce, it is widely used as a food relish and as an ingredient of curry[183]. Pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed - an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulpher compound. The reaction takes 10 - 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard[238]. The seed can also be used whole to season pickles, curries, sauerkraut etc[183, 238]. It has a stronger flavour than white mustard (Sinapis alba) and brown mustard (B. juncea)[238]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[2, 21, 171].

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Cultivation | Propagation | General Uses
Medicinal | Edible Uses

The information above has been supplied solely via the hard work and dedication of the team at 'Plants for a Future'.
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