Leaf mustard is an annual salad plant. Its leaves with a slight bitterness are one of the most nutritious first green salad vegetables, which contain many vitamins and minerals, antioxidant substances. Given its low calorie content, they can be eaten as much as you want without worrying about calories. But, unfortunately, not many gardeners grow this type of green salad and do not know about its beneficial properties. Let's get to know her in more detail.

Mustard leaf or synapis is an annual cold-resistant plant that yields a crop in a short time. Already two weeks after sowing, you can get the first vitamin greens. It belongs to the cruciferous family. In the first year, the lettuce produces a rosette of leaves. In the second year, the seeds ripen, from which the seasoning of the same name, mustard, is made.

As a green salad, mustard was known five thousand years ago. It is believed that the birthplace of this salad culture is the Indian Himalayas. Although it was known in many other countries.

Today it is grown all over the world and mainly for its seeds, which serve not only as a basis for seasoning, but also for medicinal purposes.

Today there are many different varieties salad mustard with leaves of different shapes (smooth and wavy) and colors (from green to dark red). Young tender leaves, which are used as a green salad, are collected in a rosette, the height of which can reach up to 60 centimeters. With further development, the plant can grow up to 1-1.5 meters with the further development of peduncles and seed maturation.

Mustard leaf useful properties

Looking at this type of leafy green lettuce, you can see that it is actually very nutritious in terms of the presence of biologically significant nutrients. Green lettuce contains a significant amount of:

Vitamin A;

Vitamin K;

Vitamin C;

manganese;

It is slightly inferior in the content of vitamin E, vitamin B6, phosphorus, copper.

In addition to mineral and vitamin substances present in mustard:

Carbohydrates;

Alimentary fiber.

There is no fat in the leaves. It is found only in seeds, so the calorie content per 100 grams of greens is extremely low - only 27 calories.

All these nutrients are extremely beneficial for the human body and can serve as a disease prevention.

Dietary fiber lowers cholesterol levels by preventing its absorption in the intestines. They improve the functioning of the intestinal tract, thereby preventing the occurrence of constipation and, as a result, hemorrhoids, colon cancer.

100 grams of mustard leaves contain as much as 257.5 micrograms of vitamin K. This is almost 215 percent of the body's daily requirement for this vitamin. In addition to blood clotting, this vitamin is important for bone tissue, plays a role in preserving brain neurons, protecting them from various damages. And this, in turn, can serve as a prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

Fresh lettuce contains several B vitamins, such as folic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, riboflavin, which are combined under one name - folates.

100 grams contains 3% of folic acid daily allowance adult person. Although not much, this water-soluble vitamin is important for DNA synthesis and cell division.

Fresh leaves are an excellent source of vitamin C. 100 grams of it contains 70 micrograms, or 117 percent of the daily value. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that provides protection against free radicals, viral diseases, and prevents scurvy.

Not inferior in content and vitamin A, which in 100 grams contains 101 percent of the daily requirement of an adult. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant, an important nutrient that is essential for the maintenance of mucous membranes. The use of such products serves as a prevention of oral and lung cancer.

In addition to antioxidant vitamins, leaf mustard is a source of other antioxidant compounds, such as flavonoids, carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, indole, sulforaphane. According to scientific research indoles (aromatic substances) and sulforaphane can be the prevention of cancer of the prostate, breast, colon, ovaries. They can inhibit the growth of cancer cells by having a cytotoxic (damaging) effect on them.

mustard leaf benefits

The use of lettuce will be useful for the prevention of:

Cardiovascular diseases;

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;

obesity;

osteoporosis;

iron deficiency anemia.

It is useful to include it in your menu when losing weight, as it has no calories, but a lot of nutrients, which is sometimes not enough with a limited diet.

Mustard greens are great for cleansing the liver as the leaves are high in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has the ability to literally pull toxins out of the blood, neutralize the action heavy metals, chemical substances, pesticides. It may play a significant role in cancer prevention.

The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, which are needed to break down fats. While the liver produces primary bile acids, the intestines produce secondary bile acids.

Bile is needed for the digestion of fats, otherwise we will all suffer from constipation. However, it must be in a certain balance in the body. People with high cholesterol either produce little bile or have difficulty converting cholesterol into bile. This may be due to a high intake of fatty foods and insufficient consumption of dark greens, or a violation of the liver and intestines.

Eating green leafy salads like mustard and other greens helps the liver produce enough bile, thereby lowering bad cholesterol levels. Recent studies show that mustard's cholesterol-lowering ability is greater when steamed compared to fresh herbs.

How to choose and store mustard leaf

Mustard as a salad plant is easy to grow even at home. But if this is not possible, then when buying on the market, first of all, you need to pay attention to the freshness of the leaves. They must be evenly colored, without light or dark spots, traces of damage. Light or yellow leaves may indicate that they have been collected for a long time. There is no benefit in this salad.

Lettuce should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days. It is better to wash the leaves immediately, dry them and transfer them to a container with a lid. In general, any fresh herbs are best consumed immediately. Then you can get maximum amount beneficial nutrients.

Mustard leaf use in cooking

Mustard is grown in many countries as a salad plant and is used to obtain seeds from which mustard oil is used for other purposes.

Mustard oil is considered one of the best vegetable oils and is used in cooking, in canning, baking production. It is also added in the production of some types of margarine.

There are many ways to use mustard greens. Each country has its own unique ways of incorporating this nutritious, healthy green salad into a variety of dishes. For example, in Africa, mustard greens are added to fish. In India, it is pickled. Leaves are added to rice, served with toasted bread.

Wash the leaves well before cooking. cold water to remove sand and other debris. Then place them in salt water for at least half an hour. This technique will help remove pesticides and other harmful substances. Then cut off the petioles of the leaves.

Fresh greens can be added to a salad with other green leafy salads: spinach, fenugreek, and more. You can add garlic, onion, tomatoes, red pepper to it.

It goes well with cucumbers, apple, ginger, lemon, cabbage. It is served with meat dishes of beef, chicken and other poultry, bacon, pork. Mustard is added to soups and green borscht. Lots of options. The spicy taste of mustard combined with the more moderate flavor and aroma of other vegetables and salads can give a dish a balanced flavor. Not everyone likes mustard precisely because of its spicy-spicy taste. Compared to other green salads, it is more spicy. To soften its taste, you can add greens with a mild or neutral taste.

Instead of boiling, the leaves are best roasted or steamed.

Mustard leaf contraindications and harm

Like spinach, reheating cooked mustard can cause nitrates to convert to nitrites and nitrosamines. This may be harmful to health.

Mustard should be avoided by people who are taking blood thinning medications, as it increases the concentration of vitamin K.

Like spinach, mustard leaves contain oxalic acid, which can crystallize as oxalate stones. People who suffer from kidney or bladder stones should avoid its use.

What are useful and harmful green leafy salads

Leaf mustard is an annual vegetable. Young leaves used for food have a pleasant bitterness, and are also a storehouse of macro and microelements, as well as a number of essential vitamins. Since these leaves grow in the beds in the spring, adding them to green salads helps the body cope with beriberi. All the beneficial properties of this plant and the use of leaf mustard will be discussed below.

Origin

The birthplace of mustard is Asia

Name

Mustard, or Sinapis, is a genus of plants in the Brassicaceae family.

The genus name Sinapis comes from the Greek. σίνος (sinos) - "harm" and ὄψις (opsis) - "vision", since when the seeds are rubbed with water, essential mustard oil is released, which causes lacrimation.

Description

Leaf (or lettuce) mustard is a spicy annual leafy plant belonging to the Cruciferous family. This annual can be immediately noticed in the garden thanks to the large pale green leaves, the shape of which can be different. All foliage is covered with fine pile, and the edges of a number of varieties are wavy. The height of mustard is 0.3 m, and in Japanese species it is 0.5 - 0.6 m. A photo of the plant (mustard leaf) can be seen below.

The country where this plant appeared is China. And from this state, over time, mustard began to spread throughout the world. In the national cuisines of Asian countries such as Japan, India and China, salad mustard is widely used as a separate dish, as well as an addition to salads and many national dishes.

In our country, unfortunately, mustard leaves are not yet used as widely as they should be.

How to grow this annual

Leaf mustard is successfully grown in the conditions of our country. It should be planted in loose soil, it is in such soil that it grows well. She is reluctant to different types soil. The best predecessors for this plant:

1. peas and other legumes;
2. potatoes;
3. tomatoes;
4. cucumbers.

This annual plant is planted with seeds, which are planted both in greenhouses and on beds in open ground. Sowing material is sown immediately after the massive melting of snow, you can also plant this annual before winter. The seeding depth is 1.2 - 1.5 cm. In the spring, before the first seedlings appear, it is better to cover the beds with transparent polyethylene.

The best varieties for planting in middle lane and central regions our country - Lettuce-54, Volnushka.

The first seedlings appear within 2.5 - 3 weeks after planting, and the seeds germinate even at air temperatures below +5⸰С.

look after it garden plant very simple - you need to water, loosen and weed the beds in a timely manner, as well as feed them with fertilizers. Although mustard can easily tolerate short periods of drought, it is still better to water it as the soil dries out in order to get big harvest juicy fleshy leaves.

Harvesting should be done after the seed has matured. Seeds should be collected by gently breaking the testicles. The foliage is thoroughly washed, put in plastic bags and stored in the refrigerator. The collected seeds should be dried in the shade in a well-ventilated place and stored in a tightly sealed glass container.

At home, such a plant is grown extremely rarely. Although you can grow salad mustard at home, its beautiful wavy leaves will be a great addition to the overall interior of the room. And besides, the ability to pick and eat leaves, which are rich in vitamins, without leaving the apartment is a good incentive for growing leafy mustard at home.

Useful properties of leaf mustard

Thanks to the active substances that make up the leaves of lettuce mustard, it is rightfully considered a natural cardioprotector. The following substances were found in the leaves:

• protein;
• folic acid;
• vitamins A, C, K, E;
• antioxidants;
• quercetin;
• campeferol;
• omega-3 unsaturated acid;
• glucosinolate;
• mustard oil;
• vegetable fiber.

Doctors have found that such a number of different substances have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system as a whole, strengthening the walls of blood vessels, increasing their elasticity, and removing “bad” cholesterol. By regularly eating the leaves of this plant, you can protect yourself from the development of heart disease.

Due to the sufficiently large amount of antioxidants that inhibit the development of cancer cells in the foliage, it is an excellent prophylactic against the formation of cancer cells and malignant tumors in the body.

The mustard oil contained in this annual gives the leaves a pleasant bitter taste and aroma. This oil stimulates the improvement of appetite, has a positive effect on the digestion process. Mustard leaves stimulate the production of gastric juice.

This product is distinguished by low calorie content: 100 g contains only 26 kcal. Therefore, mustard leaves are recommended to be included in the diet for weight loss. It also improves intestinal motility, adds piquancy to salads.

The oil, which is obtained from the seeds of this annual, has bactericidal properties, strengthens the immune system, and prevents the penetration of free radicals into cells. It also helps to improve a person's condition with hepatitis and other liver diseases.

The use of salad mustard in cooking

Lettuce mustard leaves are used by cooks in the preparation of green salads, various snacks, as an additive to meat dishes. The beautiful appearance of the leaves allows them to be used to decorate various dishes before serving (in particular, salads or sandwiches). These leaves are sometimes used as a substitute for spicy mustard.

Often lettuce mustard leaves are doused with boiling water and added when cooking fish and meat dishes. These leaves are harvested for the winter - canning, pickling, or simply freezing.

The succulent leaves are used to make sauces or mayonnaise, and are a great ingredient for making sandwiches.

Possible contraindications

Eating this annual is not recommended for people with gallbladder or kidney disease. Oxalants, which are part of the foliage, adversely affect the well-being of a patient with similar diseases. These same substances interfere with the absorption of calcium, but this is not catastrophic for a person who does not have health problems.

See also video

Mustard leaf: description and cultivation on the site

Mustard leaf is a spicy plant belonging to the cruciferous family. The first mention of mustard is recorded in Chinese chronicles.

Description

Source: Depositphotos

Mustard leaf - a spicy addition to meat and fish dishes

Botanical description of the species:

• Plant height reaches 30 cm, and Japanese mustard grows up to 60 cm.
• Rod root.
• The leaves are large, covered with thin villi, varieties with a wavy edge are bred. The color is green or burgundy-purple.
• The flowers are bright yellow, with a pleasant aroma, form an inflorescence-brush.
• Seeds are round, dark brown.

Salad mustard is also used to improve health. It contains vitamins A, C, E, K, folic acid, antioxidants and unsaturated omega-3 acids.

Mustard plasters are also made from the plant, which are used for colds. Keeping in mind the benefits of this spice, we must not forget about contraindications - it is not recommended to use mustard for people with diseased kidneys and gallbladder.

cultivation

It is not difficult to grow such mustard, it is unpretentious in care. The main thing is to provide suitable soil, in which the main indicator will be friability. Plant the plant in the ground where legumes used to grow, as well as onions, potatoes, cucumbers or tomatoes.

Mustard is propagated using seeds. To do this, plant the seedlings in mini-containers, and in the spring transplant into open ground. If you do not want to mess with seedlings, immediately place the seeds in the ground in spring or late autumn to a depth of 1.5 cm and pour water. Then cover the landing site with plastic wrap to create greenhouse conditions. The first shoots will appear in 3-4 days.

In order not to buy seeds for the next mustard planting, collect them from a mature plant and store them in a glass container until the next season.

Mustard care consists of regular watering, weeding, and fertilizing. Despite the fact that the plant is drought-resistant, you should not abuse this quality. Regular watering increase his yield. Once the seeds have matured, the mustard is ready to be harvested.