Chef Grey Poupon

The Harvest

Growing something and harvesting it are two completely different things in my opinion. I could grow a backyard full of wheat, but then I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to do with it! Fortunately, harvesting mustard doesn’t require a combine (although one might be useful if I had an entire field of mustard!) or a pitchfork.

The entire mustard plant—from leaves to stalks to seeds—can be eaten. As I mentioned before, mustard greens are a delicious favorite in the South. The secret is picking the leaves while they are young and tender because they get tough and develop too strong a flavor if left out in the hot summer sun.

You should harvest your mustard crop when the plants begin to turn yellow. The idea is to leave the seeds on the plant as long as possible, but to harvest before the pods are fully ripe or they will split and the seeds will spill out. The pods should be hung to dry (often in a bag to collect any seeds that fall out) and then threshed. The seeds can be used for anything from marinades to mustard. Be prepared though—it takes over 1,000 seeds to make an 8 oz jar of mustard.

Now, I don’t know about you, but while homegrown mustard greens certainly sound good, I think I’ll leave the mustard making to Grey Poupon!