Mustard Greens

Does anyone have a recipe for mustard greens? I was gifted with some (with more to come, I am sure), but I'm a displaced Yankee and have never cooked greens in my life. I was also given a bunch of turnips -- greens and all, and I know you can cook those, too. I just don't know how.

Help, please!

I just put em in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Turnips, cook the root a bit first, then add the greens. Back in the day when cholesteral wasn't a problem, I would cook a chuck of cured pork meat - ham hock, country ham chips, side meat, etc - in the water first then add the greens. FYI mustard and turnip greens are a bit bitter. That's why they go so well with pork or BBQ sauced meat.

Kay

Thanks. I think the bitterness is the reason I didn't like them the one time I tried them. I'll try anything once, but if I don't like it, it's hard for me to try again. I saw a cooking show once that said blanch them in boiling water, throw that water out and cook them in fresh water. Sounded like too much trouble for me. But I don't want to waste them. Oh, well, if I don't like them, the rest can go into the compost, right?

The only way I've ever cooked turnips is to boil and mash like potatoes, so I was going to try a turnip, potato, carrot mash and see how that comes out.

Oh, and a friend of mine doesn't use pork in her beans, greens, etc., anymore. She uses smoked turkey legs. I tried it in the last bean soup I made, and it was pretty tasty.

Smoked turkey legs huh. I'll have to try that. I've missed my cured meat flavor.

Kay

The only way I've ever cooked turnips is to boil and mash like potatoes, so I was going to try a turnip, potato, carrot mash and see how that comes out

Bluphrog, turnips are fantastic raw just sprinkled with salt and pepper, or cut up and tossed in a fresh salad

or for some oriental flavor, marinate sliced turnips in sesame oil, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and garlic.

In the south, mustard and turnips are fall crops, for they have better flavor after they have had a frost. Mustard loses the bitterness. Both are better with some smoked pork.

Jo

Dice 3 or 4 slices of bacon and fry the bits crisp, set aside bits and save the drippings. Bring about 4 cups of water to a fast boil with a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 cup sugar (takes the bite off a bit). Add the greens to the boiling water until all is in, amazing how fast it cooks down. Add the bacon drippings and reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes until tender. Serve with the bacon bits and pepper sauce (home made) and cornbread.

I personally prefer without the sugar but my wife doesn't like the extra bite. I would also add some polk salad but she wouldn't eat it at all then, just the thought but she won't try it. But then you do have to blanch and pour off the water 2 or 3 times.

ENJOY CWJ

I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

mijejo wrote:I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

Yep....that sounds about right to me. If you like the taste but think you can only handle it in small quantities, try mixing it with other greens like collards, kale, swiss chard, etc.

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

mijejo wrote:I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

Yep....that sounds about right to me. If you like the taste but think you can only handle it in small quantities, try mixing it with other greens like collards, kale, swiss chard, etc.

how many to the square?

TexasAggie wrote:

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

mijejo wrote:I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

Yep....that sounds about right to me. If you like the taste but think you can only handle it in small quantities, try mixing it with other greens like collards, kale, swiss chard, etc.

how many to the square?

It depends upon which greens you choose to plant.

TexasAggie wrote:

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:

mijejo wrote:I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

Yep....that sounds about right to me. If you like the taste but think you can only handle it in small quantities, try mixing it with other greens like collards, kale, swiss chard, etc.

how many to the square?

When I plant my mustard greens, I always plant 4 per square.  

I have never had a bitter mustard green.  This could be because I cook them for at least 3 hours in very lightly salted water and use a little smoked beef sausage instead of a ham hock.  We prefer Hillshire Farms sausage.

As far as turnips, we love the greens, can't stand the cooked root.  I can eat the root raw with salt, but when cooked they are one of the most vile things I have ever tasted. 

Add a dash of pepper sauce to the greens and the flavor is off the charts.

Greens are so good for you.  Some may have an issue with oxalic acid, but there are low oxalate greens, like Lacinato Kale.

We grow a lot of mustard, and if you add the proper minerals, your greens should not be bitter if you pick them a tad early rather than late.  Pick them in the morning before the sun heats them.

Here's a sneaky way to get more greens in your diet if you are squeamish.  Add them to smoothies and juices with sweeter fruits and vegetables.

Greens from many things can be used.  Besides turnips, mustard, and beet greens, one of the tastiest varieties is radish greens.  I do not particularly care for the radish itself; my wife roasts them and eats them like candy.  I love the tops.  Yes, she is from the North, and I am from the South.

I grow mostly greens, so in a couple of squares, rather than plant 16 radishes, I plant about 40.  The greens come up, but the roots don't expand.  I also keep a separate trash can full of extra high nitrogen compost mixed with Azomite, and I spread it on in my MM in the squares with my greens.

I also make microgreens indoors with all the greens.  You can do this start to finish in less than 2 weeks, and microgreens are super charged with nutrition. 

If you are game, try growing wheatgrass and broccolis sprouts with your microgreens.  If you put these in your morning juice/smoothie, you will be in the top 1% in this country in getting the proper amount of green veggie servings.

OK, I have never eaten nor grown mustard greens, but hear about everyone loving this spicy leaf, just got this seed today;

http://www.rareseeds.com/japanese-giant-red-mustard-greens/

Super excited!  Other than sautéing with chard, etc., what to do? Can I just lay this on a sandwich?  What is the texture?  Chard-like?

I love Hocks but I save them for beans, When I cook greens it usually a mix, I found a recipe on line calls for 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups water one bunch greens chopped in a large pot bring to a boil and simmer for thirty minutes to an hour, I normally add onion and garlic.

newbeone wrote:I love Hocks but I save them for beans, When I cook greens it usually a mix, I found a recipe on line calls for 2 cups chicken broth 2 cups water one bunch greens chopped in a large pot bring to a boil and simmer for thirty minutes to an hour, I normally add onion and garlic.

 SOUNDS LOVELY!  Thanks!  New frontier...

Keep 'em coming please!

I grow the Burpee version of Red Giant. I also grow Green Wave mustard. I've used the younger leaves of both torn small as part of salad blends. I also like adding them to Indian curries or sauteeing them for omelets/quiches, or otherwise using them as a substitute for cooked spinach in recipes. They aren't as thick/tender as chard or spinach.

Wild Garden Seed divides their mustards into 'mild' and 'pungent.' They list Green Wave as pungent, they don't have Red Giant - I suspect it's also listed as pungent. I should do a taste test once more of my varieties are up for comparison. I'm growing 4 new to me types of mustard this year: Greens in Snow "Shi-Li-Hon" (pungent), Pink Lettucy(mild), Ruby Streaks(mild), and Osaka Purple (pungent). I think cooking takes the heat out of most of the mustard greens.
I'm also taking a second attempt at Black Mustard (for seeds.)

I can't taste all bitter compounds ('nontaster'; can't taste PTC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster), so I don't know that not having tasted bitter in mustard greens is 'me' or the greens!

As SR asked, when is the texture? Is it hairy?

Following this thread with interest as I'm growing mustard greens for the first time. "Florida Broadleaf"
http://sustainableseedco.com/heirloom-vegetable-seeds/l-pa/mustard-heirloom-seeds/florida-broadleaf-mustard.html
They don't look hairy in the picture.

This website says the baby greens can be used in salads. I'm pretty sure that's what I would do. And maybe blanch & freeze or can some larger ones for winter.
http://www.everwilde.com/store/Florida-Broadleaf-Mustard-Seeds.html

mijejo wrote:I tasted a small mustard leaf right in the garden. It reminded me of horseradish. Does that sound right? Frankly, I enjoyed it, but I think I could only handle it in small quantities.

Does your mustard greens look like this?


 If so, it's "Japanese giant red mustard greens" and I dearly LOVE it and your right about tasting like horseradish. I can't walk past it without snacking on it.  It's also great on a bologna samich with onions and mayo. I have 5 mustard green plants growing throughout my SFG's. It's really a beautiful plant and scrump-dilly-icous.

MrBooker wrote:


 If so, it's "Japanese giant red mustard greens" and I dearly LOVE it and your right about tasting like horseradish. I can't walk past it without snacking on it.  It's also great on a bologna samich with onions and mayo. I have 5 mustard green plants growing throughout my SFG's. It's really a beautiful plant and scrump-dilly-

Yes!  That is exactly the one!  Sounds like I should wait til Fall, am I right?

Scorpio Rising wrote:

MrBooker wrote:


 If so, it's "Japanese giant red mustard greens" and I dearly LOVE it and your right about tasting like horseradish. I can't walk past it without snacking on it.  It's also great on a bologna samich with onions and mayo. I have 5 mustard green plants growing throughout my SFG's. It's really a beautiful plant and scrump-dilly-

Yes!  That is exactly the one!  Sounds like I should wait til Fall, am I right?

The taste will mellow after a good frost.