Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-04-27

The mustard we buy is the seed Of the
plants Sinapis, of different species, ground
into flour. It belongs to one of the most use
full families of our temperate zone. This is
the cabbage family, or the family Crucifern
SO called from the flower, which. when it
opens, spreads out in the form of cross
Our cabbsges, turnips and caulhowers belong
to this family, and SO do our garden wall flow.
ers, stocks, and purple and white caudytuft.
Mustard is a hardy plant and grows very
readily in our climate, just as readily as wild
turnip or horse -radish. The famous English
Durham mustard was originally made from
the wild charlock, (Sinapis arvensis,) which
grew abundanty around Durham, and made
a peasant mildly pungent mustard. The
name is still retained as a trademark The
charlock grows as a weed in our fields but
has never been utilized for making mustard.
Along the coast of Ireland, the fields, as seen
from the passing steamer, look yellow with
the blossoms Of this wild charlock, or "char.
lie as it is called.
If any of our readers should take the troub.
lie to buy some whole mustard seed and grind
it themselves, they would find several remark
able points of difference between this I'M
doubtedly pure article, and that which they
commonly find at the shops. In the first
place they would find it was very oily. This
is not the pungent oil which gives the flavor,
Dub Il bldLu Olls NulCu 10 Always expressed
from the seeds before they are manufactured
into mustard. It finds ready sale as q Ia.
bricant, and il said to enter largely into the
composition of Cosmoine, etc, forming the
basis OF these emollients. to which petroleum
is then added.
Next the color of pure mustard will attract
attention. There is no genuine mustard of a
bright, yellow color. The brightest possible
mustard is dull yellow color, and bright
yellow mustard is either largely rape-seed, or
else artificially colored to suit a popular taste
Last of all, the pungent smell and taste of
home-ground mustard is very great If we
use such mustard for few weeks, the store
mustard seems inspid after it, Mustard is
one of our most wholesome stimuants We
relish our food more, and digest it better, for
such pleasant, Wholesome condiments.
We cannot speak too strongly Of the i'm
portance of pure mustard, when used as an
active remedy in sudden Illness
Pepper, when freshly ground, has an appe-
thing, fragrant smell and taste, that the best
store article rarely approaches 1t is the ber-
ry of the Piper nigrum, and unlike mustard,
which is common in this country, grows only
in tropical climates Black and white pep
per are from the same berry, the difference
being simply in the preparation. The outer
husk of the berry is black, the inner seed be-
ing much lighter, or nearly white. The Lon
don-made white pepper is from the inner
seed, the outer husk being cracked of
Theoretically the white pepper is milder than
the black, for the husks are quite pungept.
The best pepper is that made from the whole
berry ground up, husk and ALL Those who
are now coming home from Europe often
bring back pretty little peppermint for the
table, to be used instead of pepper. box. 1t
is filed with whole pepper, and holding it in
one hand you turn little handle with the
other, and grind few grains of fresh, fra.
grant pepper into your soup or stew.
Red pepper is the ground pod of various
species of Capsicum, of the same family as
the potato and tomato. Our peppers raised
for pickles, if ripened, and the long red Chill
peppers, also used for pickles, when dried
and ground, are an excellent cayenne pepper,
though not perhaps so pungent as the tropi-
cal species.
Black pepper is largely doctored. The
pepper husks from the London. made white
pepper manufacturers, are for sale on this
side of the Atlantic for only few cents
pound. The whole pepper costs at the i'm
porters say fifteen cents per pound. Pepper
of pepper husks, mustard husks, and ground
rice or flour, can be sold for as many cents
the ounce as the pepper husks cost per
pound, and will seem quite like pepper too
1t smells peppery, but it is not tempting.
OF sixteen peppers examined, three were
fairly good. Nine were made up of pepper
husks, mustard husks and starch, in several
cases, in the form of Indian meal. Four pep
pers were, in addition, full of grit and fine
black dirt, which may have been the tradi-
uonal ''sweepings" of pepper warehouses.
In these authorizations there is nothing in
furious to health, it is true. Indian corn,
flour, ground rice mustard husks, ETC., do
not sound alarming, but we must remember
that we are paying all the time the price of
the pure article. = Women's Laboratory, Mass.
Inst, Of Technology.