Mustard plant
A flowering plant in the mustard family, cultivated for its edible leaves or pungent seeds. Its seeds produce pungent condiments and spices.
Brassicaceae: A family of flowering plants that includes cabbages, radishes, and mustards. Mustard belongs to this family, whose members share characteristic four-petaled flowers.
Mustard greens: The edible leaves of mustard plants, eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. Leafy mustard cultivars are grown specifically for this peppery green.
Sinigrin: A glucosinolate found especially in black and brown mustard seeds. Myrosinase converts this seed compound into allyl isothiocyanate, a major source of pungency.
Dijon mustard: A prepared mustard traditionally associated with Dijon, France, made from mustard seeds and liquid. Its sharp, smooth style commonly uses brown or black mustard seeds.
Domestication of plants: The process by which human selection changes wild plants into crops suited to cultivation. Mustard’s edible leaves and seeds became useful through long-term cultivation and selection.
Brassica juncea: An Asian mustard species grown for pungent seeds, leafy greens, and oil. This species supplies many familiar brown mustard seeds and mustard greens.
Mustard seed: The small seeds of mustard plants, used whole, ground, or pressed for oil. The seeds are the plant’s principal source of culinary spice and condiment.
Allyl isothiocyanate: A volatile, pungent compound produced from sinigrin in damaged mustard tissue. It gives many brown and black mustards their sharp heat and aroma.
Yellow mustard: A mild prepared mustard commonly made with yellow mustard seed, vinegar, and turmeric. It illustrates the gentler flavor associated with Sinapis alba seeds.
Indus Valley civilisation: A Bronze Age civilisation centered in present-day Pakistan and northwest India. Archaeological evidence places mustard cultivation in this region among early crop histories.