Topic: Mustard oil

[Alchemist]

Went down to my local Asian grocers today to get some.  They had a small bottle in their medicinal section and laughed when I said I was buying it for cooking as this was a hair tonic, and pointed me in the direction of a huge tin on the stuff that was for cooking.

So, I ended spending loads on the big tin, which is funny because I have bought the other stuff before and cooked with it!

Question is, what's the difference?  Both said they contained only pure mustard oil.

[chewytikka]

It's a myth
A good way to get you to spend 12/15 quid

I've been using it for years and the price for pure Mustard Oil has been hiked right up.


The new stuff on the block used in my restaurants is blended Mustard Oil/Rapeseed Oil.
Around 7 quid for a 4L can. KTC is the usual brand.

cheers Chewy

[StoneCut]

On my bottle it says "not for internal consumption". That's why I haven't used it yet. What's up with that?

[toddk63]

Around these parts, mustard oil in the Asian grocer is labeled "For external use only".  Of course its right next to the other cooking oils.

My first experience with it was a humorous one.  I was following a recipe for vindaloo by Julie Sahni.  It called for loads of mustard oil.  I faithfully followed the recipe and was well chuffed at the outcome.  It was only after eating it for a couple of days that I noticed something wasn't right.  I was feeling a bit pawley and my wife ( who doesn't eat my curry) was complaining that I had an offensive odor.  I began to smell the odor as well.  I finished the vindaloo over the next several days not having yet made the connection.  About a day or two after my last serving I began to feel better and at the same time the odor went away.

My wife told me and I agreed "No more mustard oil" but have since snuck it back in the house to be used in extreme moderation.

Todd K.

[George]

On my bottle it says "not for internal consumption". That's why I haven't used it yet.

Probably a wise decision. If it's not sold for use in cooking, none of the high standards of a food production facility will apply. A few bugs and a bit of contamination won't really matter. That's the reason I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole - nothing to do with the safety or otherwise of the mustard oil itself.

For further information regarding effects on health see wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_oil

[CurryFeverFan]

I Googled this when I first came across it in a recipe and as I recall (too many gin and tonics later), it is banned in quite a few countries.  However . . . . .  What I did discover is that if used in small quantities, it is just like a lot of other oils, coconut to mention one, it is also exceptionally good to use on the hair.  Only having fine hair myself, I haven't used either, although both oils are in my 'spice case'.  I cannot comment on what it's long term use could do - my recipe calls for 1 tsp and I've used it twice in the last 14 months, so I doubt I could be termed as a high user.  I don't know if it makes any difference to the overall taste as I haven't tried the recipe without it.  This is from the BBC Food website: "Due to the high levels of the allergen erucic acid present in mustard oil, EU regulations state that the oil must be marked for 'external use only. However, it continues to be widely used in Indian cooking and is often recommended by chefs to create authentic dishes".  Although a bit too scientific for me, this link may help: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-erucic-acid.htm   All I can say is that having read lots about the stuff, I have eaten the dishes prepared with it myself and shared it with my husband, children and grand children.

[George]

... I have eaten the dishes prepared with it myself and shared it with my husband, children and grand children.

Welcome to the forum. Many thanks for such a helpful first post. Maybe I'm over-concerned about the hygiene standards of a production line for a product not associated with human consumption. What do you think about that?

[CurryFeverFan]

Thank you for the greeting, George - I was nervous at first, didn't want to get shot down in flames for trying to help!!  I believe the "not for internal consumption" is a manufacturer's safeguard against the possibility of someone falling ill after consuming way too much of the stuff (ie: the issue of the allergen erucic acid - bit like saying: may contain nuts on a chewing gum packet because it was made in a factory that produces other foodstuffs that do contain nuts).  However, I think Mr. Paresh Mehta, Manager, KTC (the mustard oil I use) sums it up in this part of his statement that I found while researching, on spicesofindia.co.uk's website:  "EU Directive 80/891/EEC requires the erucic acid content of foods to be no greater than 5%. As a consequence, no pure mustard oil may be classified as a food".  I guess if it can't be classified as a food, then it has to be classed as not for internal consumption!  I doubt the hygiene issue is relevant and as the bottle isn't marked with a skull and crossbones or 'harmful if swallowed', I will continue to use it.  As I intimated in my original post, there were also some big questions raised over coconut oil some years back (gives the best fried eggs, ever) - now, its running a pretty close second to sliced bread!!  But of course, if the sliced bread isn't organic and wholemeal, it ain't any good for you!!! Hope I've helped and bear this in mind - if you've been to a curry house, you've almost certainly consumed mustard oil.  Regards, CurryFeverFan aka Trish x