Food condiment - Yellow mustard

Mustard is in the same family as cabbage, broccoli, turnips, and others. All wild mustards are edible, but some are tastier than others. Yellow mustard is the name of a plant from the cruciferae family and Sinapis Alba genus. Yellow mustard is best known as the main ingredient in North America’s traditional hotdog mustard.

Yellow mustard has a yellow seed coat and is primarily grown for the North American condiment industry, where it is used to produce traditional yellow mustard condiment, mayonnaise and certain salad dressings.

The bright yellow is a result of finely ground yellow mustard seed plus turmeric mixed with water and vinegar to produce the squeezable mustard. Mustards have been consumed for centuries as vegetables, and their products used as condiments and as edible and industrial oils. The oil is commonly used for cooking and to add a hot and spicy flavor to food.

They have a pungent and spicy bite but are milder than their close relative, brown mustard seeds. Grinding the seeds will increase their pungency for a more piquant flavor. Yellow mustard seeds are an important spice in many foods.

Yellow mustard is often used as a condiment for hamburgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. It is also great as a condiment, mixed into soups, marinades, sauces, dressings or added to casseroles and baked goods.

Mucilage (compound which is coating on the outside of the seed) has the ability to absorb and hold liquid, making mustard a good emulsifying agent. Emulsifiers allow for the suspension of one liquid in another, such as oil in water, a quality important for satiny salad dressings and mayonnaise.

The consumption amount of mustard, in recent formulation of food products, particularly in sauces and meat products has been increased not only as a flavor but for the improvement of physiochemical properties and food products durability.

Mustard is rich in protein, fiber, vitamin C and many of the B-complex vitamins. According to the scientists, mustard seeds are excellent sources of the trace minerals selenium and magnesium, which not only help with cancer prevention, but can also manage symptoms of asthma, arthritis, high blood pressure, and migraines. This bright yellow spice contains a compound called curcumin, which may exert anti-inflammatory benefits.

Its pungent and piquant flavor is packed into just a few calories—only 5 calories per teaspoon (5 g) of mustard powder or, depending upon the brand, approximately 14 calories per tablespoon (15 ml) of prepared mustard.
Food condiment - Yellow mustard