What is komatsuna spinach?
Komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach is a leaf vegetable. It is a variety of Brassica rapa, the plant species that yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It is grown commercially in Japan and Taiwan. The name komatsuna is from the Japanese komatsuna, "small pine tree greens".
Where does komatsuna come from?
Komatsuna. It is a variety of Brassica rapa, the plant species that yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It is grown commercially in Japan and Taiwan. The name 'komatsuna' is from the Japanese komatsuna (小松菜, コマツナ), 'greens of Komatsu', a reference to Komatsugawa village where it was heavily grown during the Edo period.
What is komatsuna and what is it good for?
Read on to discover a wealth of interesting komatsuna facts. What is Komatsuna? Komatsuna ( Brassica rapa var. perviridis) is an incredibly hardy green sometimes referred to as Japanese mustard spinach , although it really isn’t spinach but a member of the Brassica family.
When is komatsuna in season?
Komatsuna is available year-round, with peak season fall through spring. Komatsuna, botanically known as Brassica rapa var perviridis, is also commonly referred to as tendergreen or Japanese mustard spinach. Although not a true spinach, Komatsuna is from the mustard family and is a relative of turnips, cabbage, rapini and bok choy.
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Is komatsuna spinach?
Komatsuna (コマツナ（小松菜）) or Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) is a leaf vegetable. It is a variety of Brassica rapa, the plant species that yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It is grown commercially in Japan and Taiwan.
What can replace komatsuna?
Substitute:Mizuna (also can be hard to find if you don't have a well-stocked Japanese grocery store)Spinach.Bok choy.Napa cabbage.Daikon leaves.Watercress (only you can't get all the above)Kale (only you can't get all the above)
Is komatsuna a mustard?
Komatsuna leaves have a sweet, fresh taste and a crisp, crunchy texture that you can add to salads and stir-fries, boil, pickle, or add to soups. While komatsuna is known as mustard spinach, it's not related to common mustard greens, mustard plants, or spinach.
Can you eat komatsuna stems?
What Does Komatsuna Taste Like? The plant is utilized for both its tender leaves as well as its flowering stems and can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves can be harvested at any stage and can be snipped one at a time or the entire head can be taken.
How do you use komatsuna?
3 Ways to Use Komatsuna in Your Cooking As a garnish: Use baby leaves and komatsuna microgreens in salads and soups. 2. Add to stir-fries: Like any dark, leafy greens, komatsuna is ideal for a quick stir-fry or sautéed with aromatics. In Japan, cooks occasionally serve the leafy green with grated daikon radish.
How do you cut a komatsuna?
Boil lightly salted water, then add in the komatsuna. Once soft, place in ice water, remove and dry. Cut the komatsu into 1 cm (1/2 in) lengths from the edge and dry once again.
What is komatsuna good for?
Known for its impressive nutritional properties, komatsuna is chock full of vitamin C, calcium, and beta carotene. Like the other members of the brassica family, komatsuna has a compound called sulforaphane that helps our bodies fight cancer. Sulforaphane actively kill cancer stem cells, slowing a tumor's growth.
Is komatsuna available in the US?
Varieties have been developed that mature quicker, grow in extreme heat and cold, and provide tender, flavorful leaves you can eat raw or in many dishes. Komatsuna is rarely available in grocery stores in the United States, but it is becoming a popular choice for home gardeners.
Why is it called Mustard spinach?
Mustard spinach is a tender, flavorful green, neither mustard nor spinach, but with the best characteristics of both. The leaves are smooth and dark green, with a mild mustard flavor and tender texture when cooked.
Can you eat komatsuna root?
Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) I personally like komatsuna as it is easier to cook and the root is nice and sweet. How to cook: Unlike, spinach, it does not contain oxalic acid (cause of kidney stones) so you don't have to boil it to get rid of it. Simply chop it up and stir fry.
Can you eat komatsuna flowers?
Like the other members of the brassica family, komatsuna has a compound called sulforaphane that helps our bodies fight cancer. Sulforaphane actively kill cancer stem cells, slowing a tumor's growth. The plant is utilized for both its tender leaves as well as its flowering stems and can be eaten raw or cooked.
What is the Japanese spinach called?
Spinach Gomaae as Easy Side Dish Spinach gomaae is one of the most popular side dishes, or as we call Osozai (お惣菜), in Japan.
What is komatsuna good for?
Known for its impressive nutritional properties, komatsuna is chock full of vitamin C, calcium, and beta carotene. Like the other members of the brassica family, komatsuna has a compound called sulforaphane that helps our bodies fight cancer. Sulforaphane actively kill cancer stem cells, slowing a tumor's growth.
What is Misome?
Misome – An easy to grow Leafy Vegetable The botanical name is Brassica campestris narinosa and it is a hybrid between two other Japanese leafy green vegetables, Komatsuna and Tatsoi. The leaves are heavily textured, a little like Kale, glossy and tender. The flavour tends to intensify as the leaves mature.
What group of plants does Brassica rapa belong to?
BrassicaceaeBrassicaceae or the cabbage family is an economically important family of flowering plants, with 372 genera and 4060 species. The family contains well-known species, such as Brassica oleracea, Brassica rapa, Brassica napus, Raphanus sativus, Armoracia rusticana, Arabidopsis thaliana, and many others.
How do you grow bekana in Tokyo?
Start seeds about three weeks before the date of the last frost for a spring planting and during early summer for a late-summer planting. You can grow two harvest seasons of Tokyo Bekana in USDA hardiness zones 7-10 reliably. Seeds can be direct-sown in the garden about two weeks after the last frost.
What is Komatsuna?
Komatsuna ( Brassica rapa var. perviridis) is an incredibly hardy green sometimes referred to as Japanese mustard spinach , although it really isn’t spinach but a member of the Brassica family . It is a biennial that is tolerant of very cold temperatures as well as the heat, although extreme heat may cause it to bolt.
What is the flavor of komatsuna?
The flavor of komatsuna is somewhere between that of a mild mustard and cabbage combination. The young tender leaves can be mixed with other greens for salads or use more mature leaves in stir fries.
What is a Torasan?
Torasan is another komatsuna varietal. Komatsuna has also been cross bred with other brassicas to create some unique varieties such as Misome, which is a hybrid of komatsuna and tatsoi, and Senposai, which is a cross of komatsuna and regular head cabbage.
How to grow Komatsuna greens?
Growing Komatsuna Greens. Start seeds early indoors, or sow seed directly in the garden. Most of the varieties get quite large, between 12 and 18 inches (30-45 cm.) tall, but the size is all vertical so they can be spaced fairly close together.
How long does it take for a komatsuna plant to grow?
It matures in just 40 days, is drought tolerant, and can be sown and grown year round in many climates. Oh, and komatsuna plant care couldn’t be easier.
Can you use komatsuna in salads?
Use the thinnings in salads. Komatsuna requires very little plant care other than consistent irrigation, occasional fertilizer and a weed free area. They are prone to flea beetles and, on occasion, caterpillars. Use a floating row cover to thwart these pests.
Is komatsuna a wild turnip?
Komatsuna is a leafy form of wild turnip and is believed to have been developed from Pak Choi. There are a number of varieties available. Summerfest is preferred for warm season planting, although it is fairly winter hardy as well. Torasan is another komatsuna varietal.
Where does komatsuna come from?
Komatsuna is a leaf vegetable coming from and popular in Japan. It’s a similar species to those that yield yields the turnip, mizuna, napa cabbage, and rapini. It’s mostly commercially grown in Japan and Taiwan but there are also American productions mostly where there’s an Asian minority looking for it.
What is komatsuna used for?
There, it’s boiled, added to soups and salads, and pickled. That’s mostly because it can be used at any stage of growth and when it’s fully matured in spring, it’s mostly at its full qualities.
How long to fry komatsuna?
In the same pan, heat up the vegetable oil and add the komatsuna with a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for a few minutes until wilted.
How to prepare Komatsuna?
What you need to do is to wash the plant and slice it with a sharp knife and remove the stems before you slice the rest of Komatsuna depending on how you plan to use it.
Why do you need to add nitrogen to Komatsuna?
The soil will need to be amended with compost. That’s because you’ll need to add nitrogen to the soil in order to make it useable. This will be your most important and the largest expense you have as a farmer who works on Komatsuna production.
Do Komatsuna shoots have pesticides?
Concentrations of many pesticides in Komatsuna shoots showed higher positive corre lation with water-extractable than with total-extractable soil concentrations
Is komatsuna spinach?
Koma tsuna is most similar to spinach in its appearance and it’s how it’s being transported and moved. This is mostly done in open cardboard or plastic boxes that are easily stackable and that you can load to trucks or move in different kinds of vehicles.
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What is komatsuna used for?
Add to stir-fries: Like any dark, leafy greens, komatsuna is ideal for a quick stir-fry or sautéed with aromatics. In Japan, cooks occasionally serve the leafy green with grated daikon radish. Add to a pickle: Komatsuna is a common ingredient in shoyuzuke, a form of pickling that uses a simple soy sauce marinade.
What is komatsuna best known for?
Komatsuna is best known for its satisfying textural trick: Its dark-green leaves stay crisp, even when cooked, lending both flavor and snappy crunch to everything from salads to stir-fries. As a garnish: Use baby leaves and komatsuna microgreens in salads and soups.
What is a goseki bansei?
komatsuna called goseki bansei is closest to the peppery cultivar originally grown in Komatsugawa during the Edo period. This cultivar has larger leaves than regular komatsuna, with a bitter heat closer to rapini, mustard greens, and small, spicy-sweet Tokyo turnips and their greens.
What is the flavor of komatsuna leaves?
Komatsuna leaves have a slightly sweet, mellow flavor profile. This flavor is significantly heightened in senposai mustard, a cross between komatsuna and cabbage. In general, the maturity of the plant’s leaves is a great indication of the intensity of flavor: the more mature the leaves, the more potent the tingling mustard flavor will be.
Where is komatsuna grown?
perviridis ), is a leafy green in the turnip and mizuna family. Komatsuna, also known as “tender greens,” is grown year-round in both Japan and Taiwan and is harvested in bundles of individual leaves that resemble spinach.
Is komatsuna a good source of calcium?
Similar to other Asian greens in the Brassica family, like tatsoi and baby bok choy, komatsuna has broad green leaves that are a good source of calcium. You can eat the leaves when they are both young and especially sweet or fully grown with a bolder, mustardy character.
What is komatsuna used for?
Komatsuna has a wide range of cooking applications dictated by the leaf's maturity upon harvest. When young, the leaves are very tender and can be used raw in salads and spring rolls or lightly sautéed in stir fries and wilted in pasta dishes. As the plant grows, the stems develop a hardier texture and require longer cooking times to become tender. Fully mature Komatsuna may be preserved as a pickled vegetable and is also fantastic added into soups and stews or braised with aromatics such as ginger, garlic and scallion. Other complimentary flavors include,tuna, shrimp, salmon, crab, ham, smoked meats, sesame, soy, rice wine vinegar, mirin, miso, lemon, chili peppers and cream.
What color are Komatsuna leaves?
Description/Taste. Komatsuna has long, slender stems with large, bright green spoon-shaped leaves. It may be harvested as a micro green, a fully mature leaf and even after the flowering head develops. The leaves become a deeper green color as the plant ages and its delicate stems grow wide, coarse and pale in color.
Where is Komatsuna grown?
Komatsuna, Brassica rapa var. perviridis or B.r. var. komatsuna, has been grown in Japan since the 18th century and is now gaining popularity all around the world in home vegetable gardens. Over the years, a lot of new varieties have been created for higher volume harvests.
How to keep Komatsuna plants growing?
Water. Water freely in hot weather, ensuring you keep the soil moist. Komatsuna doesn’t appreciate dry feet and growth will be stunted. In cooler weather be careful not to water too much and avoid leaving puddles in the soil. Basically, the soil should always be moist, but never soggy.
How to grow Komatsuna in a container?
Komatsuna grows well in containers, especially if you harvest leaves as you need them to keep the size in check. Plant two or three seedlings in one 5 gallon pot, using good quality potting mix. Water well and place in a sunny position. Keep the container near the kitchen for convenience.
What temperature should Komatsuna bolts be?
Komatsuna bolts when it gets hot, but it can’t handle a hard frost, either. Plant when the temps will be right in the 45°F-80°F range.
How long does it take for a komatsuna to grow?
Komatsuna only needs a month or so to mature, and there are many hybrids created to grow in cool and hot climates, so you can grow this plant wherever you live. You can also grow indoors or use a cold frame to extend your season if needed.
What happens if you get a komatsuna?
Plants will wither and die. If the komatsuna is badly affected, remove it from the garden and throw it in the garbage, not on the compost heap.
What are the bugs that leave holes in my komatsuna?
Destructive pests like flea beetles leave holes in your komatsuna. They are hard to control when in high numbers.
Komatsuna Trivia
- The name ‘komatsuna’ means ‘greens of Komatsu’ in Japanese, a reference to the village of Komatsugawa in Edogawa near Tokyo, where it was heavily grown during the Edo period.
- It was long used in Japan as addition to bread
- It need nitrogen in soil to grow
Komatsuna Buying Guide
- It’s not always an easy vegetable to find. You’ll probably be able to buy it in high end farmers market and at some high end grocery shops. They are also sold on farms but mostly in areas with a large Japanese minority. When choosing komatsuna you should look for the quality of the leafs first and foremost. They should be green and appear to be fresh and healthy with unmarred ste…
Komatsuna Production & Farming in Texas
- Komatsuna is mostly grown in Japan and there are only a few places in Texas where it’s grown commercially, with just a few more in California. Texas is however a perfect place to grow this plant because it requires a dry soil and a lot of sunlight. The seeds should be started early and indoors, but if the weather is hot throughout the year you could grow them directly into the soil. I…
Enjoying Komatsuna
- Komatsuna is a staple of Japanese and Taiwanese cuisine where it’s used in a variety of different ways. There, it’s boiled, added to soups and salads, and pickled. That’s mostly because it can be used at any stage of growth and when it’s fully matured in spring, it’s mostly at its full qualities. The preparation process is the same as it would be for spinach. What you need to do is to wash …