Larger doses of whole mustard seed will induce vomiting. The seeds' content of oil and fat make them a good laxative. Because of the risk of overdose, remedies made with this herb should be handled with special care. Over a prolonged period, large doses of black mustard could irritate the stomach and intestines. This species is the sort used to prepare the familiar bright yellow hotdog mustard, as well as the English and German types.
Brown mustard goes into the French types.
Black mustard seed is often used for mustard powder as well as prepared mustard, and the seeds are fired until they pop in making many Indian dishes. Mustard oil is used in Indian cooking to impart a distinctive flavor. The young leaves of black and white mustards are vitamin rich and tangy. However, most gardeners grow other species for greens such as brown mustard, B juncea. The young leaves are boiled with onions and salt pork in much of the South.