Mustard is a popular flavoring that is used in many dishes around the world to create interest, however, you may be wondering whether mustard is considered a spice. Or is it something else?
The classification of mustard as a spice depends greatly on the form in which you are using it. The term mustard can refer to mustard powder, whole mustard seeds, the sauce mustard which is based on mustard seeds, or even mustard greens which of the plant which the mustard seeds come from. Generally, it can be considered a spice when it’s used as a powder or a whole seed but if it is used to create a sauce generally gets classified as a condiment.
However, the distinction between a spice and a condiment is somewhat blurry with the Oxford dictionary defining a spice as being;
“an aromatic or pungent vegetable substance used to flavour food, e.g. cloves, pepper, or cumin.”
The use of mustard seeds powder or even the green plant fits this definition quite well and therefore in these three forms, you would consider it to be a spice.
Whereas the definition of a condiment is defined as;
“a substance such as salt, mustard, or pickle that is used to add flavour to food.”.
The definition actually mentions mustard as an example of a condiment, however, it does not state the explicit form of the mustard which suggest that a condiment is anything that will add flavor to the food whereas a spice is a type of condiment which refers to it being a vegetable substance of some sort.
About Mustard
Mustard is a plant from the brassica family that has the typical round seeds which are consistent with all members of the family. Within the mustard plants, there are three specific varieties that are used as spices and condiments in different forms, the yellow mustard plant, Sinapis alba, the brown mustard plants, Brassica juncea, and the black mustard plant, Brassica nigra.
As mentioned earlier in the article this plant is used in a number of different ways which includes using the seeds whole, ground, cracked, or bruised mustard seeds. They are commonly mixed with a range of liquids which includes water and vinegar to create the mustard sauce that we are all quite familiar with.
These sauces can vary significantly in the heat with there being forms of mustard sauce that are mild and ones that are extremely hot such as hot English mustard. The heat of these flavors is controlled by the type of mustard seeds that are used to make the sauce.
White and yellow seeds are the least pungent in flavor and have the least amount of heat and a typically used to make things like American mustard whereas black and brown mustard seeds can be relatively hot.
However, even this is dependent upon the way in which the seeds are treated when the sauce is made. If mustard seeds are heated in acids they make a mustard that is very mild as compounds that provide much of the heat are denatured whereas if you use black seeds prepared in a cool environment you will get a very hot sauce.
The other common use for mustard plants is as leafy greens in meals. There is evidence that mustard was cultivated up to 5000 years ago in several locations around the world including the Indian Subcontinent, China, and even Africa.
The other reason that mustard plants are commonly grown by gardeners is also to use them as a green manure as they are very useful in improving the fertility of the soil and fumigating the soil due to the release of gases that kill soil-borne pathogens.
For those that are unfamiliar with green manure, it is plants such as mustard that help to fix nitrogen into their roots and stems. These plants are often planted between crops and allowed to grow to a certain height before being cut down to the ground and dug back into the soil. The nutrients from the plants help to improve the soil fertility hence the reason they are called green manure.
Can You Grow Mustard Plants From Store-Bought Seeds
It is possible to plant store-bought mustard seeds in your garden and the plants will grow. They typically grow best in the cooler parts of the year with many gardeners planting mustard in either spring or autumn. They are highly tolerant of cold conditions like all brassicas and therefore can in some places be grown throughout the winter.
Mustard plants can be sown directly into the garden or grown in seed trays depending upon what you were trying to achieve. If you are growing a mustard plant as a green manure most gardeners tend to broadcast the seed directly onto the garden beds and then usually rake it in to ensure it has good contact with the soil.
However, if you are growing mustard seeds as a crop it is more common to grow them in seed trays as this normally allows you to start the plant earlier when there is no space in the garden or it is too cold.
When seeds are planted they will typically take approximately 7 to 14 days to appear depending upon the specific conditions in which the plants are being grown. Leafy green plants generally require protection from slugs and snails and regular watering to ensure that they do not bolt too quickly.
The leafy greens can be picked at any stage once the plant has reached a reasonable size, however, it is recommended that you pick leaves when the plants are relatively young as they are more tender and less likely to be bitter.
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