Oil derived from mustard plants
Mustard oil and seeds
Mustard oil
can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent
essential oil
also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding
mustard seed
, mixing the grounds with water, and isolating the resulting volatile oil by
distillation
. It can also be produced by
dry distillation
of the seed. Pressed mustard oil is used as cooking oil in some cultures, but sale is restricted in some countries due to high levels of
erucic acid
. Varieties of mustard seed low in erucic acid have been cultivated.
History
[
edit
]
Mustard oil was likely produced in the ancient Jewish town of
Huqoq
, in modern-day
Israel
. This is suggested by distinctive agricultural features found there, such as semi-circular wine vats with steep slopes and lower troughs. Scholars believe these structures, dating to
Roman
or
Byzantine
times, were used to crush mustard pods to make oil. Mustard production in Huqoq is also documented in the
Jerusalem Talmud
.
[1]
[2]
Pressed oil
[
edit
]
Ox-powered mill grinding mustard seed for oil
Oil makes up about 30% of mustard seeds. It can be produced from black mustard (
Brassica nigra
), brown mustard (
B. juncea
), and white mustard (
B. alba
).
Culinary use
[
edit
]
Having a distinctive pungent taste, the use of the oil is a feature of predominantly
Punjabi
Assamese
,
Bengali
and
North Indian cooking
,
[3]
[4]
as well as
Bangladeshi cuisine
.
[5]
It is sometimes used as a substitute for
ghee
.
[6]
Chemical composition
[
edit
]
Its pungent flavor is due to
allyl isothiocyanate
, a
phytochemical
of plants in the mustard family,
Brassicaceae
(for example,
cabbage
,
horseradish
or
wasabi
).
Mustard oil has about 60% monounsaturated
fatty acids
(42%
erucic acid
and 12%
oleic acid
); it has about 21% polyunsaturated fats (6% the omega-3
alpha-linolenic acid
and 15% the omega-6
linoleic acid
), and it has about 12% saturated fats.
[7]
Erucic acid in canola oil
[
edit
]
Mustard oil can have up to 44%
erucic acid
[
citation needed
]
? a component of
canola oil
, which is deemed as a safe
food ingredient
for human consumption when the erucic acid level does not exceed 2% of the total fatty acids and the canola oil is pure.
[8]
Regulation
[
edit
]
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
prohibits the import or sale of expressed mustard oil in the U.S. for use in cooking due to its high erucic acid content. By contrast, the FDA classifies essential mustard oil, which has a much lower erucic acid content, as
generally recognized as safe
, and allows its use in food.
[9]
[10]
Expressed mustard oil is permitted in the U.S. as a
massage oil
, with a required "for external use only" label.
[5]
Nutrition
[
edit
]
Mustard oil (per 100 g) contains 884
calories
of food energy, and is 100%
fat
. The fat composition is 11%
saturated fat
, 59%
monounsaturated fat
, and 21%
polyunsaturated fat
.
[7]
Essential oil
[
edit
]
The pungency of the
condiment mustard
results when ground mustard seeds are mixed with
water
,
vinegar
, or other liquid (or even when chewed). Under these conditions, a chemical reaction between the
enzyme
myrosinase
and a
glucosinolate
known as
sinigrin
from the seeds of black mustard (
Brassica nigra
) or brown Indian mustard (
Brassica juncea
) produces
allyl isothiocyanate
. By
distillation
one can produce a very sharp-tasting
essential oil
, sometimes called
volatile oil of mustard
, containing more than 92% allyl isothiocyanate. The pungency of allyl isothiocyanate is due to the activation of the
TRPA1
ion channel in sensory neurons. White mustard (
Brassica hirta
) does not yield
allyl
isothiocyanate, but the milder 4-Hydroxybenzyl
isothiocyanate
degraded from
sinalbin
rather than
sinigrin
.
[11]
Allyl isothiocyanate
serves
the plant as a
defense against herbivores
. Since it is harmful to the plant itself, it is stored in the harmless form of a glucosinolate, separate from the enzyme myrosinase. Once the herbivore chews the plant, the noxious allyl isothiocyanate is produced. Allyl isothiocyanate is also responsible for the pungent taste of
horseradish
and
wasabi
. It can be produced synthetically, sometimes known as
synthetic mustard oil
.
[12]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Weingarten, Susan (2018). "Mustard in the Talmudic Literature". In McWilliams, Mark (ed.).
Seeds: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2018
. Prospect Books.
ISBN
9781909248656
.
- ^
Grey, M. J., & Magness, J. (2013). Finding Samson in Byzanitine Galilee: The 2011-2012 Archaeological Excavations at Huqoq.
Studies in the Bible and Antiquity
,
5
(1), pp. 6-9
- ^
Krishnendu Ray,
The Migrant's Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households
(Temple University Press, 2004), p. 27: "Wide use of mustard brings Bengali food close to the North Indian paradigm"
- ^
Pete Wells
,
Masalawala & Sons, Where the Food Is Bengali and the Mustard Oil Flow
Archived
27 January 2023 at the
Wayback Machine
,
New York Times
(January 24, 2023): "The volatile, sinus-awakening aroma of mustard oil is one of the signatures of Bengali cooking. ... Many Bengali dishes are unthinkable without it."
- ^
a
b
Indrani Sen,
American Chefs Discover Mustard Oil
Archived
8 May 2021 at the
Wayback Machine
,
New York Times
(November 2, 2011): "It is also used as a massage oil, the only use for which it is legally approved in the United States."
- ^
The Cook's Book of Ingredients
(
DK Publishing
: 1st American ed., 2010), p. 513.
- ^
a
b
"Mustard oil (per 100 ml or g)"
. FoodData Central, US Department of Agriculture. 1 April 2019.
Archived
from the original on 16 January 2021
. Retrieved
7 April
2022
.
- ^
"Rapeseed oil (section 184.1555)"
. US Food and Drug Administration, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21. 23 September 1977
. Retrieved
18 June
2024
.
- ^
FDA Import Alert 26-04: Detention Without Physical Examination of Expressed Mustard Oil
Archived
18 January 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
, FDA (November 18, 2016).
- ^
Mustard and Mustard Oil Safety
Archived
27 January 2023 at the
Wayback Machine
, National Capital Poison Center] (last accessed January 26, 2023).
- ^
"Mustard"
.
A Guide to Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
. Center for New Crops and Plant Products,
Purdue University
.
Archived
from the original on 15 January 2009
. Retrieved
3 January
2009
.
- ^
"Mustard Oil, Synthetic"
. JT Baker.
Archived
from the original on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
3 March
2010
.