Mustard greens powder
Karashina powder is a raw material made by drying and micro-pulverizing domestic karashina (mustard-green leaves), aimed at spreading a sharp pungency and a refreshing aroma evenly into dressed dishes, pickles, seasonings, and dressings. It concentrates karashina's allyl isothiocyanate (the pungent component) as a powder, and at Agriture,Dried karashina(a type that keeps the leaf shape), we powder it by adding a fine-powdering step.
Sharing the same Brassicaceae-derived pungent component as Japanese mustard and Western mustard, it lets you deploy a "pungency with the grassy-leaf note distinctive to karashina"—different from wasabi or mustard—as a material for seasonings, dressings, and pickle bases. We accept prototypes from 1 kg of raw material.
TOC
Agriture's karashina powder: three points of care
1. Low-temperature processing that protects allyl isothiocyanate
Karashina's pungent component, allyl isothiocyanate, is highly volatile and prone to deactivation with heat. By finishing it at a low temperature range from the raw-material drying stage and operating under conditions that curb heat generation in the grinding step too, we make it easy to keep the pungency and aroma even after powdering. Pungency escaping through frictional heat during grinding is a common failure with karashina powder, so we record temperature and grinding time from prototyping. Prototypes with varied blend ratios are possible—a Japanese-style dressing base of karashina + salt + yuzu peel, a spicy furikake of karashina + chili, and more.
Product catalog showing the items we handle
Flexible support from small lots to large lots
- Sold in small lots from 100g
- Handling heirloom vegetables from across Japan
- Dried fruits and herbs also supported
Features of commercial karashina powder
A sharp pungency
The allyl-isothiocyanate-derived pungency is concentrated, adding a Japanese-style sharp heat to dressed dishes, dressings, and seasonings. It's a pungency with a grassy-leaf note, different from wasabi or mustard.
A refreshing green-leaf aroma
The green-leaf aroma distinctive to Brassicaceae, combined with the pungency, gives Japanese-style depth. Suited to marinating or finishing white fish, pork, and chicken.
Dispersibility in liquids and powders
It disperses evenly into dressings, mayonnaise, and pickling liquid, enabling a "dissolve the pungency and aroma in" use that's difficult with the leaf shape.
Easy to build into Japanese-style blends
Handles pre-blending with salt, sugar, sansho, chili, and yuzu peel. You can design Japanese-style seasonings, pickle bases, and dressing bases all together.
Use together with the ingredient-shape version
For uses that want to keep the leaves' texture, use dried karashina; for uses that want to spread pungency and aroma evenly, use powder.
Product specifications (commercial)
The basic specifications at the prototype stage are as follows. Procurement lots, delivery dates, and packaging forms for mass production and OEM are settled through individual consultation.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Product name | Mustard greens powder |
| Raw material | Karashina leaf (domestic) |
| Shape | Fine powder (leaves dried and ground) |
| Appearance | Deep-green micro-powder |
| Aroma | The green-leaf aroma distinctive to Brassicaceae, with a sharp rise of pungency |
| Net content | Individual quote according to use and lot |
| Best-before date | About 6 months from the shipping date |
| Storage method | Avoid high temperature, high humidity, and direct sunlight; after opening, seal and store in a cool, dark place |
| Processing plant | Our own processing plant within Kyoto Prefecture |
| Minimum prototype lot | From 1 kg of raw material |
Customization support
| Item | What we support |
|---|---|
| Proportion adjustment | Karashina alone / premix with salt and sugar / Japanese-style spice blend |
| Blend design | Blend prototypes with sansho, yuzu peel, chili, red shiso, and chinpi |
| Packaging form | Commercial bulk, sticks and small bags, spice jars, canisters, and more |
| OEM productization | Consistent support through pickle bases, dressings, seasonings, and dressed-dish mixes |
| Raw material supply | In addition to our own raw material, we also handle contract drying and grinding with a specified growing region and specified variety |
For those who want to make use of the leaf texture (raw-material shape version)
For ochazuke, soup ingredients, dressed-dish ingredients, and otheruses that make use of the leaf texture and appearanceuses, we recommend dried karashina (a type that keeps the leaf shape). The leaves' texture and green presence that powder can't provide come alive.
Commitments to variety, grower, and growing region
Karashina is a leafy vegetable of the Brassica genus in the Brassicaceae family, and near relatives include local varieties such as Kyushu's takana and Tohoku's Yamagata seina. Pungency strength, leaf thickness, and aroma characteristics differ by variety.
Main growing region
| Growing region | Features |
|---|---|
| Kyushu region | Takana-type karashina. Strong pungency, a staple as a pickle raw material |
| Kyoto Prefecture | Karashina as a Kyoto heirloom vegetable. Handles small-lot specialty raw material |
| Tohoku region | Yamagata-seina type. Thick leaves and mild pungency |
| Nagano Prefecture | Highland-grown karashina. Good balance of pungency and aroma |
Using varieties differently
The takana type has strong pungency and aroma, suited to pickle bases and seasonings. The Yamagata-seina type has mild pungency and thick leaves, making it an easy variety to deploy into confectionery, bakery, and baby food. We also accommodate prototypes specifying a variety to match the use.
Powdering technology and quality control
For karashina powder, the retention of the pungent component determines quality. At Agriture we manage drying, grinding, and packaging consistently.
Countermeasures against pungent-component volatilization
Because allyl isothiocyanate volatilizes easily with heat and air, we adjust the grinding lot size, rotation speed, and rest time, operating under conditions where the powder temperature doesn't rise too much. Moving it promptly into sealed, light-blocking packaging after grinding keeps the pungency and aroma.
TIPS: Blends that make the most of karashina powder
For dressings, a guide of 0.5–1% per 100 g of oil and vinegar lets the pungency work as an accent without overasserting. For dressed dishes, sprinkling 0.3–0.5 g over 100 g of boiled vegetables such as spinach or komatsuna and tossing adds karashi's refreshing pungency. When using it as a pickle base, a blend of 10–15% in 100 g of salt + sugar + karashina powder can be applied to light pickles and instant pickles. Rehydrating with water or hot water makes the pungency rise more.
Use cases and adoption examples
Because powder disperses evenly into liquids and powders, it expands into uses the leaf shape can't reach. We organize the uses we're most often asked about. We supply pickle bases, dressed-dish mixes, dressing materials, and more in a form that reduces on-site blending effort.
Related articles / other Japanese-style raw materials
These are the Japanese-style powders and related raw materials Agriture handles. Use them for blend design with karashina.
- Dried karashina: a type that retains the leaf shape
- Red shiso powder: A vivid red-purple Japanese-style powder
- yuzu powder: the refreshing aroma of Japanese citrus
- Myoga powder: the refreshing aroma of a Japanese garnish
- Food OEM Directory: A consultation window for OEM projects
Product catalog showing the items we handle
Flexible support from small lots to large lots
- Sold in small lots from 100g
- Handling heirloom vegetables from across Japan
- Dried fruits and herbs also supported
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between dried karashina (leaf shape) and the powder?
Dried karashina is a type that keeps the leaf shape, suited to uses that leverage texture and appearance, such as ochazuke ingredients, soup, and dressed-dish ingredients. The powder, being micro-fine, suits uses that want to spread pungency and aroma evenly, such as dressings, pickle bases, seasonings, and dressed-dish mixes. We handle pre-blending with salt, sugar, sansho, chili, yuzu peel, red shiso, and the like. Share the blend you're aiming for in the final product—pickle bases, dressed-dish mixes, dressing materials—and we'll mix and bag it at that ratio.
What is the minimum prototype lot?
We accept prototypes from 1 kg of raw material. For mass production and OEM, we propose quotes and lead times individually. You can consult us consistently through to finished products such as pickle bases, dressings, seasonings, and dressed-dish mixes.
Please tell me the best-before date and how to store it.
The best-before date is roughly six months from the shipping date. Because the pungent component volatilizes easily, before opening store it in a cool, dark place at room temperature, away from high heat, humidity, and direct sunlight. After opening, transfer it to a sealed container and use it up within a guide of 1–2 months.
What applications are you consulted about often?
We're most often asked about dressings and Japanese-style mustard sauces, light pickles and pickle bases, dressed-dish mixes, marinade powders, and seasonings. As a substitute for karashi or a Japanese-style herb material, it's prototyped in final products that leverage both pungency and a grassy-leaf note.
