"The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."
--St. Matthew 13:31-32


"Mustard: Good only in Dijon. Ruins the stomach."
--Gustave Flaubert


"Mustard's no good without roast beef."
--Chico Marx, of the Marx Brothers comedy team

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Mustard

(Brassica nigra, Brassica alba, and Brassica juncea)


These yellow-flowered members of the cabbage family produce seeds that have been ground and used as a condiment for thousands of years.

"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove."--St. Matthew 17: 20

White, black, or Indian, both seeds and leaves are pungent. Black mustard greens (often a weed in the U.S.) has medical applications: it's a valuable counter-irritant, either in liniment or plaster form (and I have strong memories of my grandmother applying these burning plasters to my chest to break up a cold); it's a stomach stimulant; and it's an emetic.

And what about the leaves of this plant? A wonderful leaf green, especially the Brassica juncea and Brassica campestris varietals.