Origins and cultivation: The plant is of uncertainorigin, cultivated since ancient times and closely related to thegarden swede. Carbonized Seeds of rai, Brassica juncea subs.juncea, have been discovered at the Indus Valley site of Chanhudarodated about 1500 BC. Even today, this seed, called mustard inIndia, is the major Indian species.
Description: There is some confusionregarding exact nomenclature of mustard and rapeseeds. Theinternational term for this oil producing plant is rape-mustard,since it is derived from seeds of the Brassica genus, which coverboth rape and mustard species. Rape (Brassica napus) is an annualor biennial herb. The fruit is a brownish siliqua about 2 to 4inches long, with a long, tapering beak, and containing blackish orreddish-brown seeds. Black mustard (Brassica nigra) is an annualherb growing up to 3 feet high and has yellow flowers. Its seedsare dark reddish-brown. Much of the so-called ''Mustard'' growncommercially is not the true White Mustard (Sinapis alba), but Rape(B. napus) Uses: Rape, also known as ''cole'' or''coleseed'', is the source of edible oil, pressed from the seedsof annual varieties and used for culinary purposes in Europe and inIndia. One of its uses is for oiling loaves of bread before baking.Rape is widely grown as a cattle feed. It is also used for winterand spring salads and for spring greens. The seed cake is used forcattle feed. Black Mustard is long cultivated for its seeds, usedwith those of White Mustard to produce mustard flour, from whichvarious condiments are made. |
