|
Mustard oil is made from mustard seed. It has a strong smell, a little like strong cabbage, a hot nutty taste, and is much used for cooking in Bengal.
Mustard oil is composed mostly of the fatty acids oleic acid, linoleic acid and erucic acid, which is considered noxious. At 5%, Mustard seed oil has the lowest saturated fat content of the edible oils.
Due to its high content of erucic acid, mustard oil is not considered suitable for human consumption in the United States, Canada and the European Union, although mustard oil with a low content of erucic acid is available. In India, mustard oil is generally heated until it starts smoking before it is used for cooking. This may be an attempt to attempt to reduce the content of noxious substances.
In Northern India, mustard oil is also used for rub-downs and massages (see ayurveda).
External links
|
