MUSTARD GREENS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 88, 15 April 1933, Page 6 (Supplement)

MUSTARD GREENS.

Most people only know mustard in its seedling form when it is associated with cress in the well-known salad. In America the plant is commonly grown for the sake of its large foliage, which, when cooked in the right manner, is one of the most delicious greens. It is rather strange that mustard is not cultivated for this purpose in New Zealand, seeing that such excellent green stuff can be produced in a remarkably short time. Mustard seed will germinate at any time of the year, providing there is no frost, for tho plant is very hardy. When sowing for greens the seed should bo sown thinly, about the same as turnips. The mustard is in its best condition for cookiijg just when the flower buds aro beginning to form. Once in flower, the foliage is much more tough and strong in flavour. In preparing the greens for table, care in cooking is needed to get them in perfection. Get them fresh from the garden and wash thoroughly. Have a pan filled with boiling water in which salt has been mixed in the proportion of a teaspoonful to one gallon. Throw the greens and keep boiling violently for six to ten minutes. Keep off the lid of the pan, so as to ensure a good colour, and drain the greens Well before serving. Mustard has a delightful piquant flavour that is wanting in any of the cabbages.