Mustard Greens - picture courtesy of Health and Beauty
Mustard Greens are part of the cruciferous plant family. Like its cousins broccoli, cabbage, and kale, it is high in antioxidants. Mustard Greens are high in iron and calcium, as well as Vitamins A and C and Beta Carotene! All around, these delicious, spicy greens are really nutritious!
To store your Mustard Greens, go ahead and clean them off. Greens can sometimes be gritty after just being picked, so it’s recommended to triple wash them: fill your sink with water and move the greens around in the water to release the silt, drain and rinse; do this three times! Then, wrap a moist paper towel around them, stick them in a bag and place the bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. They should last about 3 to 5 days this way. Just remember, their flavor may become more bitter the longer they’re stored, so eat these early in the week if possible.
You can eat Mustard Greens raw or cooked. Regardless, you’ll want to remove the thick stems and only use the leaf portion. Go ahead and toss yellowed leaves into your compost pile: they’ve seen better days and will likely be extremely bitter. Most people recommend eating the small, young leaves, if you’re going to eat them raw. The larger leaves are a little more bitter and work best cooked. It’s best to blanche or boil the leaves briefly to help remove the bitter taste, so you’re left with the earthy mustard flavor. Blanching is a quick cooking method in which you place the produce in a large, covered stockpot of boiling water for 3 minutes and then quickly drain and place in an ice bath for 5 minutes, to stop the cooking process and retain the high level of nutritive value. At this point, you can drain the greens and place them in a freezer bag to store for up to a year, if desired.
After blanching, greens can be added to pastas or soups like minestrone, sauteed with onions and garlic in some olive oil or butter with a splash of apple cider vinegar, or simply steamed or boiled in water or chicken broth. Greens are best cooked “low and slow” so they are nice and tender, at least 20-30 minutes, and sometimes as long as 45-60 minutes, if they’re a little older. Just be careful not to burn them.
For more nutrition and health benefits information concerning Mustard Greens, check out WHFoods here.