One of the most spicy seasonings is considered to be mustard. It is not difficult to cook it, sufficiently dried and worn seeds to brew in water and add to the swollen mass vinegar of low concentration (wine or apple) and various spices, for example cinnamon, pepper, bay leaf, tarragon, celery, onion and garlic.
Mustard, which is used to make seasonings, is of three types:
- White. In the traditional cuisine of England, it is called English.
- Black. Its seeds are used to make the famous Dijon mustard. There are over 20 ways to make this seasoning.
- Mustard is sarepta; in Europe it is better known as Russian (it will be discussed in our article).
Description
Sarepta mustard is an annual herbaceous plant reaching a height of 40-100 cm, with a rod, relatively weak root. On an erect branching stem, stem leaves are located, decreasing upward, while the plate is not very divided, and the petiole is shortened. At the bottom, leaflets are alternate, petiolate, as a rule, liriform-pinnately separate, green, but at the very top - whole, sessile, but not stalk-bearing and bluish in color.
The inflorescence of mustard with sarpest is a brush-like brush that quickly lengthens during the flowering period. The four-dimensional perianth is formed by spaced sepals, a golden yellow corolla and petals, tapering rather quickly into a fingernail. Sarup mustard has 6 stamens, two of which are outer and shorter, with small honey glands at the base; in front of two long ones there is one large piece of iron. Pestle consists of a two-nested ovary and capitate stigma.
Mustard fruits in the form of a linear, thin, tuberous pod with a length of 7 to 12 mm. The diameter of the seeds is approximately 1 mm; their color can be either black and gray, or brown or pale yellow. Sarepta mustard blooms in May, and fruit ripening in June.
Where is it found?
Sarepta mustard absent-mindedly grows in the territory of Central Asia, Northern China, Mongolia and Southern Siberia. The plant can be found both in the steppe zone and in wastelands, near roads. It is rather difficult to distinguish between native and feral mustard. The plant came to Russia by accident with flax and millet seeds brought to the Lower Volga region, but local residents managed to evaluate the oil-bearing properties of the plant, and they began to grow it. Today, Sarepta mustard occupies the third place among oilseeds on sown areas (use, varieties and chemical composition are described in detail in this article). Not far from the village of Sarepta in 1810, the first mustard and oil mill even opened.
Sarepta mustard: microscopy
In the seed, consisting of the peel and the germ, there is practically no spare nutrient tissue, or endosperm. On the cross-section, you can see several horseshoe-shaped cotyledons and a rounded root.
Sarepta mustard (microscopy confirms this ) consists of four layers. Large, colorless cells that contain mucus form the outer layer, or epidermis. It is followed by very large thin-walled cells that swell when soaked and practically subside in dry seed.
Cells of the third, sclerenchymal layer of a very characteristic structure. On the cross-section, their wave-like character is noticeable, this is due to unequal height, then evenly increasing, then decreasing. This also determines the dimple of the surface of the seed.
The tangential elongated cells that contain the brown pigment form the fourth layer - the peel, followed by the endosperm. But the embryo tissue is represented by thin-walled cells containing fatty oils and aleuron grains.
Chemical composition
Sarepta mustard seeds are composed of essential and allyl mustard oil, potassium bisulfate and sinigrin glycoside, which breaks down into glucose under the influence of the myrosin enzyme. Essential mustard oil can be obtained from fermented seeds by steam distillation. The composition of the resulting product contains not more than 40% allyl mustard oil and up to 50% crotonyl mustard oil, as well as cyanallyl, traces of carbon disulfide and dimethyl sulfide. In addition, a slightly drying fatty oil consisting of erucic, oleic, linoleic, easy-price, linolenic, myristic and behenic acids, mucus and proteins was noted in mustard oil. The leaves of the plant contain carotene, ascorbic acid, calcium and iron salts.
Sarepta mustard: growing
The plant grows well in loose, fertile and well-drained soil, in addition, access to sunlight. Sarepta mustard propagates (description, microscopy, chemical composition are given above) by seeds, it is desirable to sow them in open ground in the spring. As a rule, areas with a warm climate are chosen for growing plants.
Sowing leaf mustard seeds as early as possible. Flowering plants occur in June-July, as well as other representatives of the cabbage family. At an earlier sowing, a rosette of leaves appears before the days of prolonged solstice, in addition, shoots will be protected from cruciferous fleas.
For the cultivation of mustard, it is not necessary to allocate separate beds, it grows well in the aisles. Seeds are sown to a depth of not more than 1 cm. As soon as the first leaves appear, seedlings need to be thinned so that between them there is a distance of 5 to 8 cm. After that, nitrogen fertilizing and watering will be required. After about 20 days, Sarepta mustard will reach a height of 10-15 cm and will be ready for use.
Close cultural relatives of the plant are cabbage, watercress, radish, turnip, rutabaga, radish, rape, winter and spring rape. This must be taken into account when planning the planting of seeds. Areas where oil flax, millet, sunflower or beets were previously grown for mustard are not suitable for growing mustard.
How to collect and procure raw materials?
Sarepta mustard, or rather its seeds, is ready for harvest when the pods located in the lower and middle parts of the plant have ripened, and the lower leaves have begun to die.
The grass must first be dried and threshed carefully and the seeds cleaned. Then they are scattered with a thin layer on a pallet and dried in a well-ventilated area. In order for the raw materials to dry better, it can be turned over or stirred.
Dried mustard seeds are transferred to tissue bags. It is recommended to store raw materials in a suspended state in a ventilated and dry room, in order to avoid mustiness.
The shelf life of mustard seeds is 2 years, so try to use them for this period of time. If the raw material is still left, it will have to be thrown away. Expired seeds are not recommended for use.
Mustard as a fertilizer
Sarept mustard can be used as fresh plant mass, which is embedded in the soil in order to enrich it with organic substances. This siderat:
- able to clean the site of weed grass, especially for cultivated soils.
- Thanks to its chic phytosanitary properties, it protects against slugs, wireworms and pea moths, and prevents late blight and scab on potatoes.
- Rapidly increasing biomass, as a result of which the soil is replenished with nutrients.
- Improves soil structure. Mustard roots, reaching a length of 1.5-3 meters, well loosen and drain the soil, which provides excellent moisture resistance and air absorption.
- It retains nitrogen in the soil and converts other nutrients to organic matter, preventing them from going into a deeper layer.
- Under the influence of snow, a plant from siderat turns into mulch, which, in turn, in the autumn-winter period protects the soil from freezing.
Mustard varieties
In the register of selection achievements of the Russian Federation, 9 varieties of mustard mustard are registered, approved for use:
- Freckle is an early ripe, with a semi-spreading rosette, reaching a height of 25-28 cm. From the emergence of shoots to cutting the greens takes from 25 to 30 days.
- Mustard Sarepta thrush. Technical maturity occurs in a month. An early ripe variety with a slightly spreading, large, upright rosette, reaching a diameter of 25-32 cm. Mustard Sarepta throat is rapidly increasing its green mass.
- Arigato.
- Okay Technical maturity occurs in 58-60 days.
- Mustang is a mid-season variety, plants in height reach 25-27 cm.
- Sadko.
- Lovely. Harvesting greens can begin on the 18-20th day after the emergence of seedlings.
- Prima.
- Vigorous.
Kitchen use
Mustard Sarepta found in cooking. It makes an excellent spicy seasoning that enhances the taste of many dishes. Mustard powder is used in the preparation of mayonnaise, various sauces and dressings. Ground seeds give a special flavor to sausages and other products.
Canned foods, sprinkled with mustard powder on top, last longer. Table mustard is usually served as an addition to fish and meat dishes, as well as smoked meats.
Due to its good taste, mustard oil is used not only in cooking, but also in the production of bakery products and the manufacture of canned food. According to the culinary experts of many countries, this is an excellent seasoning for salads, legumes, meat and sauces.
Mustard powder is a part of domestic sauces: “Kuban”, “Amateur” and “Southern”. When added to salads, young mustard greens not only enrich them with vitamin C, but also improve palatability.
Other areas of use
Mustard Sarepta found application not only in home cooking, but also in medicine. Rubbing with oil from the seeds of the plant is used for colds, inflammatory diseases of the bronchi, peripheral nerve, pleurisy, rheumatism, myositis and radiculitis.
Mustard cake is used as a raw material for the production of phytin, which is prescribed in the treatment of neurasthenia, scrofulosis, vascular hypotension and diathesis. The drug gives good results with sexual weakness and loss of appetite.