What is mustard? Species of mustard

Spicy or sweet, burning or tender - mustard has several cooking recipes. Each of them is fixed for a certain country and is considered traditional for it. Europeans prefer a mild taste, Russians like more sharply - everyone can find the most pleasant option for themselves.

What is mustard? What is it made of?

Mustard is a popular seasoning from light yellow to brown color, which is obtained as a result of processing grains of the same plant. When adding additional ingredients such as salt, sugar, water, vegetable oil, various food additives, the mass becomes like sauce, it is easy to spread on sandwiches, used for baking meat and as an independent seasoning for cold dishes and snacks.

For the preparation of mustard, whole or powdered grains are suitable. Whole seeds have a more vivid spicy aromatic taste, so they are mainly used for baking meat. Due to the large content of mustard oil in the composition of grains, a dense crust forms on the meat, but inside it remains juicy and unusually soft. Mustard, prepared from powder, is served, as a rule, as a sauce. Depending on taste preferences, it can be as sharp as the Russians like, or soft, which Europeans prefer.

History of the appearance of mustard

It is generally accepted that the homeland of this spicy seasoning is Asia. But what is mustard, the photo of which is presented below, was already known in ancient times. There are references to plant seeds in manuscripts written in Sanskrit, whose age is five thousand years.

It was added to food by the ancient Greeks, and the Romans made a paste from the seeds, which was very similar to today's seasoning. There are references to mustard seeds in the Bible. Since the XVIII century, the plant is grown in Russia. Here is a variety of mustard sareptsky. Its name came from the town of Sarepta, now part of Volgograd. Mustard in the Volga region, the North Caucasus and Siberia is growing well on the territory of the Russian Federation. Leaders for the cultivation and processing of mustard grains are the countries of Central Asia, Pakistan, India, China, Egypt, as well as European states France and Holland.

Beneficial features

It has long been known that mustard is an excellent warming agent, so it is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, in particular, in the manufacture of mustard plasters. But this does not end the useful properties of spices. It is effective not only for external use, but also for eating. What is mustard as a sauce, tried everything, but, in addition to a piquant taste, it can bring the body more benefits.

Mustard seeds contain about 30% fat (mostly unsaturated fatty acids). In addition, in the seeds of the plant there are essential oils, linolenic, peanut, oleic acids, vitamins of group B, A, C, trace elements: zinc, iron, sodium, magnesium and calcium. Due to this composition of grains receive an incredibly useful mustard oil. In addition, the seeds of this plant contain substances that help with bronchitis.

One of the properties of mustard is the ability to accelerate metabolic processes in the body and break down fats. Therefore, it is useful to include this spicy seasoning not only in the daily ration, but also to make various masks and body wraps. Mustard is an antioxidant, has antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

Three varieties of mustard

In total, about 40 varieties of plants are known, from which a spicy seasoning is obtained, but white, black and Sarept mustard were most widely distributed.

White, or English mustard, contains 35% fat and 1% essential oil. That is why it is widely used in the manufacture of mustard oil. The seeds of this plant are the largest of all the varieties represented. They are added to pickles, vegetable, mushroom dishes and soups. Grains do not have a pronounced taste and smell, so when making mustard from them, various food additives should be used.

Black, or French mustard, is also called real. It has a sharp tart taste, and it smells like horseradish. Due to this the bulk of the grains goes to the production of mustard dining room. Powdered seeds are used to make a heating patch.

What is sarepta mustard? In the world it is known as Russian. Has the maximum percentage of fat (up to 49%) and ether (3%) oil. From it make a fragrant mustard oil. The use of it for the body is even higher than that of sunflower. Cake, which remains after the processing of grains, is used for the production of powder. The dining room of Russian mustard is very sharp.

Species of mustard

When adding to the grains or powder of various ingredients, the taste of the finished product changes. What food additives to use depends on the plant variety and preferences of buyers from different countries. Therefore, the industrial production of mustard dining room involves a wide variety of varieties of this product.

The most popular recipes: French Dijon mustard, traditional English, made according to an old recipe, sweet Bavarian (Munich), acute Russian and American.

The famous Dijon mustard. What it is?

In the main city of Burgundy, located in the south-east of France, called Dijon, since the XVII century, it was organized the industrial production of a dining room of mustard and vinegar. And already in the middle of the XVIII century the most popular Dijon mustard was produced here. What it is? Initially, it was a seasoning, obtained from ground beans of black mustard with the addition of sour juice of unripe grapes. Prior to this, vinegar was traditionally used in the production of this product. Thanks to this, the sauce acquired a creamy texture, became tender and light and quickly gained popularity.

Today, what is Dijon mustard, the photo of which is presented in the review, is known all over the world. Half of the total production of seasoning falls precisely on this variety. There are more than 20 recipes for preparing Dijon mustard: with the addition of white wine or wine vinegar instead of sour juice, herbs, spices and other food additives.

Tender French mustard. Recipe for cooking at home

The most popular seasoning in the world, made in France - is Dijon. But sometimes in some recipes there is the notion of "French mustard". What it is? This is a real Dijon mustard, made from black grains or a mixture of seeds of different varieties.

To prepare French Dijon seasoning, you need to take 250 g of mustard powder obtained after grinding the grains of black and Sareptian mustard, and pour 90 ml of boiling water. Stir the mixture thoroughly and leave to infuse in a dark place for a day. After this time, add 100 ml of white wine vinegar, 10 grams of salt, 50 g of sugar, cinnamon and cloves (1 g each) to the mustard paste and fried onion oil. Tender French mustard is ready!

Today you can find a lot of other simple recipes for making this wonderful sauce. Perhaps it's worth trying to cook a few of them to find your favorite mustard dining room.

Spicy granularity

Often, during seasoning, seeds are not ground into powder, but are used in their entirety. So it turns out a granular mustard. What is it is clear from its name. It is mustard, consisting of whole or slightly crushed grains. Along with the traditional ingredients in this composition is white wine. In it, add natural spices, for example, cloves, cardamom, garlic, sweet pepper.

Granular mustard is considered more refined. Due to spicy spicy taste it is used for baking meat and is added to salads.

Sweet Bavarian sauce

In Russia, it is considered that mustard must be acute. But this is far from the case. What is clearly evidenced by Bavarian sweet mustard.

What is it, it became known in the XIX century, together with the invention of an ideal sauce for white Munich sausages from veal. Its main feature is the coarse grains combined with caramel syrup. Bavarian mustard brown, sweet to taste and soft in consistency, has a slight piquancy.

It is useful to know what is mustard and what properties it possesses. This makes it possible to widely use it in your diet to benefit the body and improve culinary skills.