Wild Mustard Hot Stuff In The Kitchen And The Car

The farmers’ scourge for centuries, wild mustard is hardly at the top of anyone’s list of favourite plants.  A harbour for insects and pests harmful to gardens and crops alike, it has been the target of herbicides and natural defences used by organic and non-organic farmers for the last sixty years, yet remains one of the most common noxious weeds in the fields.  Yet, it is far from the demon that we have been led to believe.

When farmers send their grain or oilseeds to be cleaned prior to shipping, cleaners can count on an abundance of wild mustard seed in the screening mix.  Inevitably, it is discarded, and sometimes burned to prevent regeneration or sprouting.  That drastic technique often fails, because mustard seed has a good resistance to fire, with its hard shell.  However, it does burn, since it has a very high oil content.  Ironically, this oil offers great potential for revenues.

Mustard has one of the highest oil content of all oilseeds, including soybean, flax and canola, often exceeding 40%.  Yet, it has not been used to its full potential in the production of biodiesel.  I attribute this to the mental attitude of oilseed producers, who opt to produce biodiesel from food-grade oilseeds, although offgrade, sprouted and screened oilseeds produce as good, if not better biofuel than food grade.  When I was working on establishing biodiesel facilities in Manitoba, many farmers scoffed at the idea of using reject material to produce their fuel.  They wanted “nothing but the best,” which, of course, meant paying a premium price and eliminating profit margins.  Similarly, on our biogas pilot projects, few farmers wanted to be involved in producing biogas from manure, as if the concept meant that the end product would be inferior. 

Mustard seed produces excellent fuel.  Even wild mustard oil is quite edible by humans, although large quantities of the seed and the plant can be injurious to cattle.

The flakes of mustard meal left over after squeezing oil from the seeds can be deadly hot – easily as hot as a good wasabe. I have used the flaked meal round garden plants, and found it works to deter cutworms and other crawling pests.  A caution, however: do not place the meal too close to the plants, as they can suffer badly from contact with the concentrated residue.

Mustard plants, like turnips and beets, also provide very tasty, and somewhat peppery greens.  Not as spicy as the leaves of nasturtium, mustard greens have more life and taste than many of the more bland green wild crops of late spring and early summer.  In a pinch, the stalks can be chewed as a survival food.  I have found them woody and difficult to digest, and would prefer to eat other available wild greens.  Cooking does not enhance the flavour of mustard greens.  Raw, mixed in a salad is my preferred choice, or even used as a lettuce-like supplement in sandwiches.   One colleague uses the almost-opened flower heads in the same manner as broccoli, steaming them and adding a bit of cheese to liven them up. 

Hardly the floral ogre that it is painted to be by farmers, wild mustard offers a lively option for innovative gatherers of wild foods, and should not be discounted or rejected merely because farmers hate the plant and cattle seem revolted by it.  Spice, salad ingredient, boiled green, pest controller and even fuel for your vehicle or kerosene heater, mustard can be a lifesaver!

Web Information Not Always Reliable

My mother used to tell me, “Only believe half of what you see, and nothing of what you hear.”  It was a good adage in the era preceding the Internet.  Today, a caveat should be added – “And very little of what you read.” This is particularly true when it  comes to claims of health and nutrition benefits for wild plants.

Ironically, many of North America’s edible wild plants actually were domestically harvested in Europe: dandelion, horseradish, hawthorne and so on.  However, many of the claims of edibility or health benefit for other wild harvests should be treated sceptically, if not suspiciously.

Several years ago, I purchased a book on edible wild plants of Canada, and set out to sample as many of these culinary delights as possible.  I had been raised eating wild foods, such as pigweed and dandelion, and relying on medicinal benefits of Seneca root, common plantain, white willow and spruce needles.  Yet, I wanted to expand my arsenal of edibles.  The author of this book claimed to be an authority on harvesting plants in the wild.

I should have been alerted to the potential for error with the first trial.  He claimed that cattail roots were delightfully tasty, and had a root like a small potato.  I don’t know where he grew potatoes, but it must have been meagre soil, indeed!  The vast majority of cattail roots are miniscule bulbs, about half the size of an egg.  These are first- and second-year roots.  Yes, a few are the size of new potatoes, but you need to sift through the sands for ages to find these diamonds.

The next misstep by this author came with his claim of the ease with which we can harvest thistle roots.  “Simply wash, peel and boil these roots for fifteen to twenty minutes,” he stated.  I washed, I peeled, I scraped, I boiled, and I boiled, and I boiled.  For over two hours, these easy-to-cook roots simmered and bubbled.  When I placed them in front of my son and myself, the only benefit they provided was that they made us eager to devour the rest of the meal.  At no time in the cooking process did they become tender.  I have chewed on softer birch bark than these roots offered. 

Of course, a simple statement that one needs to select first-year roots would have been adequate.  Since that experience, I have eaten thistle root often.  I have moved from boiled root ( a somewhat bitter, yet bland  experience) to a sautéed root, peeled and spice with thyme or wild sage. 

While the misinformation in this book may be somewhat amusing, relying on the misinformation on the Web can be dangerous at worst, confusing at best.  In my own realm, for instance, I have personally tested each of the plants about which I have written, and researched toxicity.  Yet, my reaction to consumption is subjective.  I eat copious amounts of morels in the spring, without unpleasant reaction, Yet, others may become ill with one small morel.  My own experience is not sufficient to stand in the place of scientific authority, though.

After publishing my various articles, I have searched the Net, only to find my pieces re-published by others, under their own name, claiming personal experience and knowledge.  How often are the stories we read based on mere plagiarism, and without substance or validity? 

The best safeguard is to research at least three competing articles on each plant, and follow up by checking more reliable authorities on toxicity, such as university websites and reputable clinics around the world.  This method offers good comfort as to poisonous or toxic elements in any wild plant.  The reliability of the culinary value, though, will provide you with more than sufficient adventure, as you discover some of the bizarre menu suggestions on the Web.  Good eating!