Mizuna
Mizuna (also called Xiu Cai, Kyona, Japanese Mustard, Potherb Mustard, Japanese Greens, California Peppergrass, etc.) is a Japanese name used primarily for Brassica rapa nipposinica but also for Brassica juncea var. japonica and similar varieties of Japanese mustard greens with jagged or frilly dandelion-like leaves and a sweet, mild, earthy flavor.[1][2]
Description
The taste of mizuna has been described as a "piquant, mild peppery flavor...slightly spicy, but less so than arugula."[3] Mizuna makes an excellent salad green, and is frequently found in mesclun. It is also used in stir-frys, soups, and Nabemono.[4][5]
A seller of packaged seeds in the United Kingdom describes mizuna as:
A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat. The Japanese are fond of them pickled. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.[6]
According to the BBC:
Not only is it good to eat, it's also quite decorative, with glossy, serrated, dark green leaves and narrow white stalks, looking good in flower beds and as edging. It's vigorous, adaptable and easy to grow in most soils. Mizuna greens have a mild mustard flavour. The usual sowing time, outside, is from early to late summer, but it can be sown in late spring or early summer, when it may have a tendency to bolt. Another alternative, is to sow in early autumn, for transplanting under cover.[7]
Varieties
In addition to the term "mizuna" (and it's alternates) being applied to at least two different species of Brassica, horticulturalists have defined and named a number of varieties. For example, a resource provided by Cornell University and United States Department of Agriculture lists sixteen varieties including "Early Mizuna", "Kyona Mizuna", "Komatsuna Mizuna", "Vitamin Green Mizuna", "Kyoto Mizuna", "Happy Rich Mizuna", "Summer Fest Mizuna", "Tokyo Early Mizuna", "Mibuna Mizuna", "Red Komatsuna Mizuna", "Waido Mizuna" and "Purple Mizuna".[8]
Nutritional value
Mizuna is nutritious and according to one source:
...contains vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants. And like other brassica vegetables, it contains glucosinolates, which may inhibit the development of certain cancers. Glucosinolates are the compounds that give brassicas, like Brussels sprouts and cabbage, their bitter flavor.[9]
Cultivation and use
Mizuna has been culitaved in Japan since ancient times, but most likely originated in China.[10]
References
External Links
- PROTAbase on Brassica rapa
- "Brassica rapa". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 17 November.
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