Spices (final)

More than you ever wanted to know about brassicas, which include mustard, horseradish, wasabi, rapeseed, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip, radish, and cabbage. 

• Mustard comes from three plants: black mustard, brown Indian mustard, and white mustard. (Not sure why it's called white mustard when both the flowers and seeds are yellow.)
• The earliest reference to mustard is from India in the 5th century BCE. When a mother loses her only son, she takes his body to the Buddha to find a cure. The Buddha asks her to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has never lost a child, husband, parent or friend. When the mother is unable to find such a house in her village, she realizes that death is common to all, and she cannot be selfish in her grief.  (Mustard seeds are also mentioned in the New Testament and the Quran.)
• The Romans mixed grape juice (known as "must") with ground mustard seeds (called sinapis) to make mustum ardens — "burning must" — hence "must ard"
• Dijon, France, became recognized for mustard by the 13th century. In 1777, one of the most famous Dijon mustard makers, Maurice Grey, started making mustard with white wine, called Grey-Poupon.  It was the first mustard to use automatic machines.
• The use of mustard on hot dogs was first seen at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, when the bright-yellow French's mustard was introduced.  (George French actually thought of his mustard as a salad dressing.)  The bright yellow is from turmeric.
  
• Powdered mustard lacks any potency; it must be soaked in water to develop its heat.
• Mustard does not need to be refrigerated, but will retain its flavor and spiciness much longer if it is.
• Horseradish is poisonous to horses.  (Oh, the irony.)
• In the west, wasabi is often referred to as "Japanese horseradish." In Japan, horseradish is referred to as "western wasabi."  Wasabi and horseradish are different species.
• Wasabi is difficult to cultivate, which makes it quite expensive, so a common substitute is a mixture of horseradish, mustard, starch and green food coloring.  Real wasabi is darker and more coarse than the powder-made paste, and isn't nearly so astringent and head-searing.
  
• Rapeseed oil was produced in the 19th century as a lubricant for steam engines, but was not used for food because of its bitter taste and contained more than 50% erucic acid, a known toxin. Varieties were developed with a better taste and less than 2% erucic acid.  One strain, bred in the 1970s at the University of Manitoba, Canada, was labelled "Can.O., L-A." for Canadian Oilseed, Low-Acid.  The name was trademarked, but soon become generic (like Xerox, Kleenex, and Band-Aid).
  
• In 1998, a disease- and drought-resistant strain of canola was produced by genetic engineering. In 2011, 96% of canola crops were genetically modified.
  
• The noun rape comes from the Latin word "rapum," meaning turnip. The verb rape comes from the French raper, "to seize, abduct,"
• The rapeseed blossom is a major source of nectar for honeybees.  The state of Oregon prohibits it from being grown in three counties for fear it will attract wild bees away from crops such as carrots, which require bees for pollination.