Mustard

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

The rare condiment where the flavour costs almost nothing.

Stage by stage

Pungency (Nose and mouth): Crushing lets an enzyme meet its substrate; the reaction produces the heat, and cooking stops it.
Low energy (Stomach): 83 calories per 100 g — a fraction of any emulsified condiment.
Selenium (Gut): 50 mcg per 100 g is high for a condiment; a teaspoon supplies a few micrograms.
Sodium (Circulation): 1,420 mg per 100 g, but around 70 mg in a teaspoon — modest for this shelf.

Timing

Add it off the heat if the sharpness is what you want — the enzyme that creates it does not survive cooking.

Time to effect

Minutes: Pungency develops after mixing with water, then fades within the hour.
—: Nothing accumulates at teaspoon serves.

Allergens

Contains: Mustard. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Keto, Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 83
Protein: 5.8g
Carbohydrate: 6.2g
of which sugars: 3.6g
Fat: 3.1g
of which saturated: 0.1g
Fibre: 4.1g
Sodium: 1420mg

Food vs. supplement

Mustard is worth having on this list mostly as a substitution: the change from mayonnaise to mustard on a daily sandwich is a larger and more sustainable calorie reduction than most deliberate diet interventions, because nothing is being given up.

Kitchen tip

Swap it for mayonnaise on sandwiches. It is the one condiment change that adds flavour instead of taking it away, which is why it sticks.

Common myth

“Mustard is a good source of selenium.” In reality: Per 100 g it genuinely is — 50 mcg, most of a day’s requirement. But nobody eats 100 g of mustard. A teaspoon gives about 2.5 mcg, which is under 5% of the daily target. The real case for mustard is that it makes food taste better for 83 calories per 100 g, which is a much better reason to use it than the nutrition panel.

Recipes that use it

In the glossary

Enzyme