Mustard "greens" is a popular fresh vegetable,
especially in the South. Fresh market production, however,
is restricted to local sales or short-distance markets due
to the relatively short shelf life of mustard.
Packaging has been shown to successfully extend the
shelf life of several fruits and vegetables. To determine
the effect of packaging and storage temperature on the
postharvest life and quality of mustard, mustard was stored
at 1, 4, and 15C in perforated polyethylene bags, Cryovac
D-955 60-gauge or 100-gauge heat-shrinkable films or
not-wrapped. A preliminary experiment was conducted with
spinach to develop experiment methodology and for comparison
of packaging effects on another leafy vegetable.
Packaging mustard in perforated bags, Cryovac 60, or
Cryovac 100 films significantly reduced weight loss over
non-bagged greens. Mustard and spinach packaged in the
Cryovac films lost less weight than greens packaged in
perforated bags.
Weight loss was higher for greens stored at 4 and 15C,
than greens stored at 1C. There was an increase in weight
loss of mustard not-bagged and in perforated bags as number
of days in storage increased.
Package type had a highly significant effect on C02
concentration in atmosphere within packages of spinach and
mustard, with higher C02 concentrations occurring in
packages made of Cryovac film. Concentrations of C02 were
constant over storage time, reaching a steady state by the
3rd day of storage.
The quality of bagged spinach was excellent after 20
days in storage at temperatures of 1 and 4C. Mustard was
stored for 12 days at 1 or 4C with very little loss in
quality. Quality of non-bagged mustard was excellent when
stored up to 3 days at 1 or 4C, but was unacceptable after 5
days in storage.
Packaging significantly increased the incidence of
decay and yellow discoloration of greens stored at 15C.
Quality of all greens, however, was poor after only 5 days
in storage at 15C.
Sensory evaluations indicated packaging and storing
mustard for extended periods (12 days) did not affect the
flavor and quality of cooked mustard.