MUSTARD.
Mustard is the product obtained by crushing and sifting the seeds of Sinapis nigra and Sinapis alba, of the genus Brassicaceæ. In the manufacture of the condiment, both the black and white seeds are used. According to analyses made by Piesse and Stansell,[138] fine grades of the two varieties of mustard possess the following composition:—
| Black Mustard. | White Mustard. | |
| per cent. | per cent. | |
| Moisture | 4·52 | 5·78 |
| Fixed oil or fat | 38·02 | 35·74 |
| Cellulose | 2·06 | 4·15 |
| Sulphur | 1·48 | 1·22 |
| Nitrogen | 5·01 | 4·89 |
| Albuminoids | 30·25 | 30·56 |
| Myrosin and albumen | 6·78 | 6·67 |
| Soluble matter | 32·78 | 36·60 |
| Volatile oil | 1·50 | 0·04 |
| Potassium myronate | 5·36 | .. |
| Ash | 4·84 | 4·31 |
| Soluble ash | 0·98 | 0·55 |
Clifford Richardson regards the following proportions of the more prominent constituents of pure mustard flour as a basis for detecting adulterations:—
| Per cent. | |||
| Water | 5·00 | to | 10·00 |
| Ash | 4·00 | „ | 6·00 |
| Fixed oil | 33·00 | „ | 37·00 |
| Volatile oil | 0·25 | „ | 1·00 |
| Crude fibre | 0·50 | „ | 2·00 |
| Nitrogen | 4·50 | „ | 6·00 |
The following results were obtained by Messrs. Waller and Martin from the examination of 14 samples of very low grade dry mustard, as found on the New York market:[139]—
| Per cent. | |||
| Moisture, ranged from | 5·43 | to | 9·86 |
| Fixed oil „ „ | 6·81 | „ | 22·56 |
| Total ash „„ | 2·05 | „ | 16·05 |
| Soluble ash „„ | 0·15 | „ | 2·90 |
| Insoluble ash „„ | 1·69 | „ | 13·15 |
Eight samples were coloured with turmeric, 4 with Martius’ yellow, 12 contained starch, and 5 showed the presence of calcium sulphate.
The article usually sold as mustard is a mixture of mustard farina, prepared from different varieties of the seed, with wheaten flour or starch, and turmeric. It is claimed by the manufacturers that pure mustard possesses too acrid a taste to be suitable for use as a condiment; and its admixture with the foregoing substances is so generally resorted to and recognised, that the New York State Board of Health, in 1883, legally sanctioned the practice, provided the fact is distinctly stated upon the label of the packages. Other prevalent forms of sophistication consist in the partial extraction of the fixed oil from the mustard before its introduction on the market, and in the addition of cocoa-nut shells, terra alba, and “Martius’ yellow” (potassium dinitronaphthalate). The latter colouring matter is specially objectionable, being poisonous in its action. The presence of organic admixtures is usually recognised upon a microscopic examination of the sample. The anatomical structure of mustard seed is described by Fluckigen and Hamburg in ‘Pharmacographia.’ Wheaten flour or starch is readily identified by the iodine test. The following methods are employed for the detection of turmeric:—