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Brassica nigra

 
Brassica Nigra

 
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Brassica nigra
 
 
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Brassica nigra (black mustard) is an annual
Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates flowers and dies in one year. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed....
 weedy plant cultivated for its seeds, which are commonly used as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
. The plant is believed to be native to the southern Mediterranean region of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, and has been cultivated for thousands of years.

The spice is generally made from ground seeds of the plant, with the seed coats removed. The small (1 mm) seeds are hard and vary in color from dark brown to black.






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Brassica nigra (black mustard) is an annual
Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates flowers and dies in one year. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed....
 weedy plant cultivated for its seeds, which are commonly used as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
. The plant is believed to be native to the southern Mediterranean region of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, and has been cultivated for thousands of years.

The spice is generally made from ground seeds of the plant, with the seed coats removed. The small (1 mm) seeds are hard and vary in color from dark brown to black. They are flavorful, although they have almost no aroma. The seeds are commonly used in Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine

The cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across its society....
, for example in curry
Curry

Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
, where it is known as 'rai'. The seeds are usually thrown into hot oil or ghee
Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in the Indian subcontinent, and is important in South Asian cuisine and Middle Eastern cuisine ....
 after which they pop, releasing a characteristic 'nutty' flavor. The seeds have a significant amount of fatty oil. This oil is used often as cooking oil
Cooking oil

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is liquid at room temperature.Some of the many different kinds of edible Vegetable fats and oilss include: olive oil, palm oil, soybean oil, canola oil, pumpkin seed oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grape seed oil, sesame oil, argan oil and rice bran oil....
 in India.

Ground seeds of the plant mixed with honey are widely used in eastern Europe as cough suppressant. In Eastern Canada, the use of "mouche de moutarde" to treat respiratory infections was popular before the advent of modern medicine. It consisted in mixing ground mustard seeds with flour and water, and creating a cataplasm
Poultice

A poultice, also called cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflammation, or painful part of the body....
 with the paste. This cataplasm was put on the chest or the back and left until the person felt a stinging sensation.

The plant itself can grow from 2 to 8 feet tall with raceme
Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
s of small yellow flowers. These flowers are usually up to 1/3" across, with 4 petals each. Its leaves are covered in small hairs. The leaves can wilt on hot days, but recover at night.

Since the 1950s, black mustard has become less popular as compared to india mustard
Brassica juncea

Brassica juncea, also known as mustard greens, Indian mustard and leaf mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Sub-varieties include Southern Giant Curled Mustard, which resembles a headless cabbage such as Kale, but with a distinct horseradish-mustard flavor....
 because some cultivars of india mustard have seeds that can be mechanically harvested in a more efficient manner.

It is theorized that black mustard is the seed mentioned by Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 in .

Similar plants

Despite their similar common names, black mustard and white mustard
White Mustard

White mustard is an annual plant of the family Cruciferae. It is sometimes also referred to as Brassica alba or B hirta or yellow mustard....
 (genus Sinapis
Sinapis

Sinapis is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. One of the species in this genus is White mustard . Black mustard is sometimes placed in this genus as well, but is more often placed in the related genus Brassica....
) are not closely related. Black mustard belongs to the same genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 as cabbage
Cabbage

The cabbage is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae , used as a Leaf vegetable. It is a herbaceous, biennial plant, dicotyledonous flowering plant distinguished by a short stem upon which is crowded a mass of leaves, usually green but in some varieties red or purplish, forming a characteristic compact, globular cluster ....
.

See also

  • Mustard plant
    Mustard plant

    Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as Mustard ....
    , Mustard seed
    Mustard seed

    Mustard seeds are the small seeds of the various mustard plants. The seeds are about 2 mm in diameter, and may be colored from yellowish white to black....
  • Sinapis
    Sinapis

    Sinapis is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. One of the species in this genus is White mustard . Black mustard is sometimes placed in this genus as well, but is more often placed in the related genus Brassica....


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