mustard family  Concise Encyclopedia Article

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Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae), composed of 350 genera of mostly herbaceous plants with peppery-flavored leaves.

The pungent seeds of some species lead the spice trade in volume traded. Mustard flowers take the form of a Greek cross, with four petals, usually white, yellow, or lavender, and an equal number of sepals. The seeds are produced in podlike fruits. Members of the mustard family include many plants of economic importance that have been extensively altered and domesticated by humans. The most important genus is Brassica (see brassica); turnips, radishes, rutabagas, and many ornamental plants are also members of the family. As a spice, mustard is sold in seed, powder, or paste form.

All mustard is made in relatively the same way. The seed must be crushed, its hull and bran sifted out or not depending on type of mustard being made. It then may or may not go through further grinding and crushing. A liquid such as water, wine, vinegar, beer, or a combination of several of these liquids is added, along with seasonings and perhaps other flavorings. The mustard is mixed, in some cases simmered, and then cooled. Some mustard is aged in large containers before it is bottled and shipped to stores and customer.

The only blight on the history of mustard has been its long history of use in warfare. In the first year of WWI German military scientists devised a way to create a blister agent popularly called mustard gas be heating readily available mustard seeds. Two years later they perfected an industrial method for synthetically creating the gas, but the availability of mustard seeds make it a popular chemical agent to be used by third world countries and fringe military groups. Contrary to popular belief, mustard gas has been used since WWI, most notably in 1991 during the Iraq-Iran war.

Although similar recipes for mustard paste appear as early as 42 AD, the use of mustard as a condiment was not widely practiced in either Greece or Rome. The Romans took the seed to Gaul, and by the ninth century French monasteries were bringing in considerable income from mustard preparations. By the13th century, mustard was one of the items offered by Parisian sauce-hawkers, who walked the streets at dinner peddling their savory wares.

For centuries, there was an increase in both the regulation of mustard and its number of makers. Adulteration and contamination persisted until the middle of the sixteenth century, when regulations were instituted governing the cleanliness of all utensils used in production. In 1658, additional laws protected mustard producers, making it an offence for any one else to make the sauce.

In spite of the wide acceptance of mustard and the regulations governing its production, mustard's popularity declined by the early eighteenth century. The House of Maille, founded in 1747, was doing well in Paris, but general interest had ebbed, in part because of spices newly available from the Americas and the Far East. The market was revived, and the city of Dijon secured as the capitol of mustard when, in 1856, Burgundian Jean Naigeon substituted verjuice for the vinegar in prepared mustard. The use of verjuice resulted in a mustard that was less acidic than France had tasted before, and the smooth, suave condiment we call Dijon assumed its place in history.