Mustard

Mustard seed is one of the most popular spices traded in the world today. Mustard seeds are from the mustard plant. The three principal types bused to make mustard seeds: black mustard (Brassica nigra), white mustard (Brassica alba) and brown mustard(Brassica juncea). Black mustard seeds have the most pungent taste, while white mustard seeds, which are actually yellow in color, are the mildest. Brown mustard, which s actually dark yellow in color, has a pungent acrid taste. Mustard seeds sold either whole or as a ground powder.

Mustard seeds, known as Rai or Sarson in India, are widely used in cooking on the subcontinent. Other uses for mustard seed in medicine include mustard poultices used to relive the congestion experienced when you have a cold or cough and mustard powder baths to ease the pain of stiff, sore or aching muscles