''Brassica juncea'', commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of
mustard plant.
Cultivar
''Brassica juncea'' cultivars can be divided into four major subgroups: integrifolia, juncea, napiformis, and tsatsai.
Integrifolia
Juncea
Napiformis
Tsatsai
Nutrition
In a reference serving, cooked mustard greens provide of
food energy and are a rich source (20% or more of the
Daily Value) of vitamins
A,
C, and
K which is especially high as a multiple of its Daily Value. Mustard greens are a moderate source of
vitamin E and
calcium. Greens are 92% water, 4.5%
carbohydrates, 2.6%
protein and 0.5%
fat (table).
Uses
Food
The leaves, seeds, and stems of this mustard variety are edible. The plant appears in some form in
African,
Bangladeshi,
Chinese,
Italian,
Indian,
Japanese,
Nepali,
Pakistani,
Korean, and
African-American (soul food) cuisines. Cultivars of ''B. juncea'' are grown for their
greens, and for the production of
oilseed. The mustard condiment made from the seeds of the ''B. juncea'' is called brown mustard and is considered to be
spicier than yellow mustard.
Because it may contain
erucic acid, a potential
toxin, mustard oil is restricted from import as a
vegetable oil into the United States.
of mustard, however, is accepted as
GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).
But in
Russia, this is the main species grown for the production of
mustard oil. It is widely used in
canning,
baking and
margarine production in Russia, and the majority of Russian
table mustard is also made from ''B. juncea''.
The leaves are used in African cooking,
[Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.] and all plant parts are used in
Nepali cuisine, particularly in the mountain regions of
Nepal, as well as in the
Punjabi cuisine in the northern part of the
Indian subcontinent, where a dish called ''
sarson da saag'' (mustard greens) is prepared. ''B. juncea'' subsp. ''tatsai'', which has a particularly thick stem, is used to make the
Nepali pickle called ''achar'', and the
Chinese pickle ''
zha cai''.
The
Gorkhas of the
Indian states of
Darjeeling, West Bengal and
Sikkim as well as
Nepal prepare pork with mustard greens (also called ''rayo'' in
Nepali). It is usually eaten with relish and steamed rice, but can also be eaten with ''
roti'' (
griddle breads). In Nepal it is also a common practice to cook these greens with meat of all sorts specially goat meat; which is normally prepared in a pressure cooker with minimal use of spices to focus on the flavour of the greens and dry chillies. ''Brassica juncea'' (especially the seeds) is more pungent than greens from the closely related ''
Brassica oleracea'' (
kale,
broccoli, and
collard greens), and is frequently mixed with these milder greens in a dish of "mixed greens".
Chinese and
Japanese cuisines also make use of mustard greens. In Japanese cuisine, it is known as ''takana'' and often pickled for use as filling in
onigiri or as a condiment. Many varieties of ''B. juncea'' cultivars are used, including ''
zha cai'', ''
mizuna'', ''takana'' (var. ''integrifolia''), ''juk gai choy'', and ''xuelihong''. Asian mustard greens are most often
stir-fried or
pickled. A
Southeast Asian dish called ''asam gai choy'' or ''kiam chai boey'' is often made with leftovers from a large meal. It involves stewing mustard greens with
tamarind, dried
chillies and leftover meat on the bone. Brassica juncea is also known as ''gai choi'', ''siu gai choi'', ''xaio jie cai'', baby mustard, Chinese leaf mustard or ''mostaza''.
Green manure
Vegetable growers sometimes grow mustard as a
green manure. Its main purpose is to act as a
mulch, covering the soil to suppress weeds between crops. If grown as a green manure, the mustard plants are cut down at the base when sufficiently grown, and left to wither on the surface, continuing to act as a mulch until the next crop is due for sowing, when the mustard is dug in. In the UK, mustard sown in summer and autumn is cut down starting in October. April sowings can be cut down in June, keeping the ground clear for summer-sown crops. One of the disadvantages of using mustard as a green manure is its propensity to harbor
club root.
Phytoremediation
This mustard plant is used in
phytoremediation to remove heavy metals, such as
lead, from the soil in hazardous waste sites because it has a higher tolerance for these substances and stores the heavy metals in its cells.
In particular, ''Brassica juncea'' was particularly effective at removing
cadmium from soil. The process of removing heavy metals ends when the plant is harvested and properly discarded. Phytoremediation has been shown to be cheaper and easier than traditional methods for heavy metal reduction in soils.
In addition, it has the effect of reducing soil erosion, reducing cross-site contamination.
See also
*''
Sinapis alba'' (formerly ''Brassica alba'') – yellow or
white mustard, another mustard variety
*''
Brassica oleracea'' – wild cabbage
*''
Brassica nigra'' – black mustard, another mustard variety
*''
Brassica rapa'' – related family of edible greens used in Asian cooking
*''
Brassica carinata'' – Ethiopian mustard
*For other edible plants in the family
Brassicaceae, see
cruciferous vegetables.
References
Further reading
* .
External links
PROTAbase on ''Brassica juncea''
Mustard Green Manures: Washington State University Extension paper on cover crops.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q504781
Category:Asian vegetables
juncea
Category:Chinese cuisine
Category:Flora of Asia
Category:Flora of Nepal
Category:Leaf vegetables
Category:Phytoremediation plants
Category:Soul food
Category:Sylheti cuisine