Mizuna (ミズナ（水菜）?, "water greens"), shui cai, kyona, Japanese mustard,
potherb mustard, Japanese greens, California peppergrass, or spider mustard is a cultivated variety of Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica.
The taste of mizuna has been described as a "piquant, mild peppery flavor...slightly spicy, but less so than arugula." It is also used in stir-fries, soups, and nabemono (Japanese hot pots).
A seller of packaged seeds in the United Kingdom describes mizuna as:
A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat. The Japanese are fond of them pickled. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.
Not only is it good to eat, it's also quite decorative, with glossy, serrated, dark green leaves and narrow white stalks, looking good in flower beds and as edging. It's vigorous, adaptable and easy to grow in most soils. Mizuna greens have a mild mustard plant flavour. The usual sowing time, outside, is from early to late summer, but it can be sown in late spring or early summer, when it may have a tendency to bolt. Another alternative, is to sow in early autumn, for transplanting under cover.
In addition to the term "mizuna" (and its alternates) being applied to at least two different species of Brassica, horticulturalists have defined and named a number of varieties. For example, a resource provided by Cornell University and the United States Department of Agriculture lists sixteen varieties including "Early Mizuna", "Kyona Mizuna", "Komatsuna Mizuna", "Vitamin Green Mizuna", "Kyoto Mizuna", "Happy Rich Mizuna", "Summer Fest Mizuna", "Tokyo Early Mizuna", "Mibuna Mizuna", "Red Komatsuna Mizuna", "Waido Mizuna" and "Purple Mizuna".
Mizuna has been cultivated in Japan since ancient times.
The taste of mizuna has been described as a "piquant, mild peppery flavor...slightly spicy, but less so than arugula." It is also used in stir-fries, soups, and nabemono (Japanese hot pots).
A seller of packaged seeds in the United Kingdom describes mizuna as:
A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat. The Japanese are fond of them pickled. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.
Not only is it good to eat, it's also quite decorative, with glossy, serrated, dark green leaves and narrow white stalks, looking good in flower beds and as edging. It's vigorous, adaptable and easy to grow in most soils. Mizuna greens have a mild mustard plant flavour. The usual sowing time, outside, is from early to late summer, but it can be sown in late spring or early summer, when it may have a tendency to bolt. Another alternative, is to sow in early autumn, for transplanting under cover.
In addition to the term "mizuna" (and its alternates) being applied to at least two different species of Brassica, horticulturalists have defined and named a number of varieties. For example, a resource provided by Cornell University and the United States Department of Agriculture lists sixteen varieties including "Early Mizuna", "Kyona Mizuna", "Komatsuna Mizuna", "Vitamin Green Mizuna", "Kyoto Mizuna", "Happy Rich Mizuna", "Summer Fest Mizuna", "Tokyo Early Mizuna", "Mibuna Mizuna", "Red Komatsuna Mizuna", "Waido Mizuna" and "Purple Mizuna".
Mizuna has been cultivated in Japan since ancient times.
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