Not all mustard is the same. There is it burning hot, mild or sweet, refined with herbs, spices or fruits. Numerous mustard specialties now enrich the culinary offer.
History of mustard
Mustard, which is also called “inconspicuous flowering wild herb” and is native to the Mediterranean, was already known as a medicinal and spice plant in ancient times.
As early as 300 BC, mustard was cultivated in India as a sought-after spice plant. After the Greeks and Romans had described mustard in its various modes of action in the 1st century, the Romans finally brought it over the Alps. By a request of Charlemagne in 795, the mustard was increasingly cultivated. This encouraged its spread throughout Central Europe.
In the 13th century, the French city of Dijon obtained a monopoly on mustard production. Even today, Dijon mustard is a particular specialty.
Types, components and production of mustard
Mustard belongs to the cruciferous family. Distinguish here can be two main varieties
- White mustard (Sinapis alba) has sand-colored grains and is mild, spicy pungency.
- Black mustard (Brassica nigra) provides seeds with a strong dark brown shell, which can be removed. The embossed pungency rises in the nose, eyes and palate.
The ingredients include glucosinolates or mustard oil formed from them, fatty oil, protein and mucilage. Overall, these ingredients can act hyperemic (stimulate blood circulation), skin irritant or bacteriostatic (inhibit bacteria).
The production of mustard is uncomplicated, but always different in terms of flavor. The grains are washed, polished and crushed. Then the crushed grains are mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
Beer gives a spicy taste, wine or mustard a spicy taste and vinegar a mild taste. If you mix the crushed grains with water, you get a very spicy taste.
Mustard is healthy!
The statement that mustard makes you stupid, you hear again and again. The reason for this misconception probably lies in a confusion of names. Namely, there are so-called cyanogenic mustard oils, which one could assume from their name in mustard. These toxic, cyanogenic substances effectively damage the brain when eaten in excess.
However, the assumption that the toxic substances are contained in mustard is absolutely wrong, since mustard oils are mainly found in bitter almonds and in bamboo shoots. They are not present in mustard at all. However, many other mustard oils, which are formed by the ingredient glucosinolate, are very much present. Mustard has this in common with horseradish, cress and radishes, among others.
However, the mustard oils contained generally have a positive, stimulating property. They promote gastric juice production and salivation, and thus ultimately digestion. So it makes sense to eat especially fatty foods such as sausage with mustard.
