Themustard plant is any one of several plant species in the generaBrassica,Rhamphospermum andSinapis in the familyBrassicaceae (the mustard family).Mustard seed is used as aspice. Grinding and mixing the seeds with water, vinegar, or other liquids creates the yellow condiment known asprepared mustard. The seeds can also be pressed to makemustard oil, and the edible leaves can be eaten asmustard greens. Many vegetables are cultivated varieties of mustard plants; domestication may have begun 6,000 years ago.[1][2][3]
Although some varieties of mustard plants were well-established crops inHellenistic andRoman times,archeological records for any of these crops are not reported. Wild forms of mustard and its relatives, theradish andturnip, can be found throughout West Asia and Europe, suggesting theirdomestication took place somewhere in that area.[4] TheEncyclopædia Britannica states that mustard was grown by theIndus Civilization of 2500–1700 BC.[5] According to the Saskatchewan Mustard Development Commission, "Some of the earliest known documentation of mustard's use dates back toSumerian and Sanskrit texts from 3000 BC".[6]
A 2021 genetic study ofB. rapa concluded that the species may have been domesticated as long as 6,000 years ago inCentral Asia, and turnips or oilseeds might have been the first product. The results also suggested that a taxonomic re-evaluation of the species might be needed.[7]
White mustard (Sinapis alba) grows wild inNorth Africa,West Asia, andMediterranean Europe, and has spread further by longcultivation; brown mustard (Brassica juncea), initially from the foothills of the Himalayas, is grown commercially in India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Bangladesh[8] and the United States; black mustard (Brassica nigra) is grown in Argentina, Chile, the US, and some European countries. Canada and Nepal are the world's major producers of mustard seed, between them accounting for around 57% of world production in 2010.[9] White mustard is commonly used as acover crop in Europe (between UK and Ukraine). Many varieties exist, e.g., in Germany[10] and the Netherlands,[11] mostly differing in lateness of flowering and resistance against white beet-cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii). Farmers prefer late-flowering varieties, which do not produce seeds; they may become weeds in the subsequent year. Early vigor is important to cover the soil quickly and suppress weeds and protect the soil against erosion. In rotations withsugar beets, suppression of the white beet-cyst nematode is an important trait. Resistant white mustard varieties reduce nematode populations by 70–90%.[citation needed]
Mustard species are a common host plant toPhaedon cochleariae, a beetle native to Europe.[12][13] Due to their particular diet, they have been colloquially referred to as mustard leaf beetles.[12]
Species in another Brassicacea genus,Sisymbrium, are also commonly referred to as mustards, and their seeds and leaves are used for culinary purposes.[14]
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