Mizuna belongs to the mustard family — Brassica juncea, the same species as the mustard greens that make people wince. Somewhere along the way this Japanese cultivar traded most of that heat for sweetness, and the result is one of the most useful crops in the catalogue.
What it tastes like
Fresh, sweet, and mustardy in a way that reads as brightness rather than burn. It adds zing to a salad without taking it over, which puts it in a different job from mustard proper or radish — those are accents you deploy carefully; mizuna can carry a larger share of the bowl.
It is sometimes sold as California peppergrass, which describes the flavour better than the name mizuna does.
What it looks like
White stems, bright green cotyledons, and — as the true leaves come in — serrated edges with a blush of purple. The 'Red Coral' type is the one usually grown as a microgreen and it is genuinely attractive in a tray, which matters if you are the one looking at it every morning.
Growing it
Easy and fast, like most brassicas.
- Germination in 3 to 5 days, and highly productive per tray.
- Three usable harvest points, which is unusual: a micro crop at 3 to 5 days after germination, a petite green at around 14 days, and a baby leaf at about 21. You can decide late what you are growing.
- Grows alongside its relatives. Broccoli, kale and kohlrabi share close enough timing to run on the same schedule.
How to use it
- As a salad base, which most peppery crops cannot do.
- In an Asian-leaning blend, where its sweetness balances sharper leaves.
- On rice bowls and noodles, added at the end so the heat of the dish does not wilt it.
- In sandwiches, where it does the job lettuce does but with flavour.
Timing and variety notes draw on Cooking With Microgreens by Sal Gilbertie and Larry Sheehan.
