Mustard Oil

hunnymonster

hunnymonster

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I have a recipe that calls for it, yet it seems all mustard oil sold in the EU (and US) is labelled "for external use only"... is this some sort of namby-pamby "Nanny EU knows best" or is there a real issue with mustard oil in food?

edit: I have 2 different brands here - both say (variants of) "external use only"
 
150g yoghurt
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
75ml mustard seed oil
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp red chilli powder
up to 4 tsp tandoori masala powder, (alternatively substitute with paprika), to taste
1kg chicken pieces, skinless (I use breast fillets 1 per person)

Put the lemon juice, ginger, garlic, fenugreek, salt, mustard seed oil, garam masala, cumin, coriander and chilli powder in a large dish and stir to combine. Add tandoori masala powder (or paprika) and more salt to taste.

Add the chicken to the dish and massage the marinade into the meat. Mix in the yogurt and rub the marinade in a little more. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 4-5 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken from the fridge about an hour before cooking to bring it back to room temperature.

For best results, cook the chicken on a BBQ or skillet - HOT!

Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off any excess and place the chicken pieces on a baking tray. Discard the leftover marinade. Put the chicken onto skewers if BBQ-ing or get the skillet up to temperature. Alternatively grill or roast in an oven around 200 degrees.

Cook until thoroughly cooked through, and serve with salad/rice/raita etc.
 
Cool (or hot??), I may give it a try! Luckily Mrs PC is really getting in to spicy foods which is fine by me. We have ordered quite a lot from this place, which so happens to stock mustard oil:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Dabur-Mustard-Oil.html#aOGH016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog ... ml#aOGH016</a><!-- m -->

As you can see it does say 'for Cooking and Hair'!! :) Why not try it for both?
 
OK just had a look at OP and I can't make out if Hunny was just asking the question about the regulations or wanted a stockist. I still haven't got a clue about the first question.
 
I can't believe it makes much difference what oil is used in a curry (well not olive oil of course) so I don't think I'd bother buying it anyway, especially as I haven't seen it in any other recipes. Hope the external use goes OK, let us know how you get on Hunny.
 
Yep it's an EU directive.

"In its pure form, mustard oil contains a fatty acid called erucic acid (cis-dos-13-enoic acid) at levels between 22% and 50%. 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."

"In northern regions of India the oil has many uses (in addition to food use); as a baby oil, a mosquito repellent and as a hair conditioner, while many users also claim it is helpful in the massage treatment of muscular aches and pains. However, the European legislation obliges me to dissuade you from using the oil for culinary practice."


You've got mozzies in the borders haven't you?
 
Pig Cat said:
I can't believe it makes much difference what oil is used in a curry.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, it makes a difference - mustard oil has a distinctive mustard flavour.

Try using melted butter in place of ghee (which is a popular substitution, because ghee is in reality just the oil part of butter) - it's totally different stuff. When I make naan using butter they're almost tasteless, use ghee instead and they look and taste much better. Same applies when I make a curry sauce, the choice of oil/fat is definitely apparent in the end product.
 
I bought some mustard oil from an excellent asian shop that opened up in Wythenshawe a few years back... unfortunately closed down now. It certainly did have a distinctive aroma.
 
hunnymonster said:
Pig Cat said:
I can't believe it makes much difference what oil is used in a curry.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, it makes a difference - mustard oil has a distinctive mustard flavour.

Try using melted butter in place of ghee (which is a popular substitution, because ghee is in reality just the oil part of butter) - it's totally different stuff. When I make naan using butter they're almost tasteless, use ghee instead and they look and taste much better. Same applies when I make a curry sauce, the choice of oil/fat is definitely apparent in the end product.
Click to expand...

I asked Mrs PC who is a better cook than I and she said in the absence of the oil she'd add a few mustard seeds to the spice mix. Not a bad compromise I imagine. We have ghee and yes I can see why that's a useful ingredient.
 
I happen to have in my possession a bottle of said mustard oil which I bought in local asian shop, initially thinking to try it in some soapy experiment. However, as you say it does indeed have a very distinctive smell....of mustard. If you'ld like me to send you some pm me with your address Hunny.
 
No, it's fine - I have 3 bottles here - what I really want to know is, since it's all marked as external use only, is it really a concern to eat it or is it more spurious bollocks from Brussels (like banning the sale of borax as a cleaner, because you can also use it as a pesticide)?
 
Well, you can either keep the oil to no more than 5% if Antdad is right, or if you need to use more than that I'm sure Google can tell you how much of the killer ingredient is in the oil.
As for spurious bollocks from Brussels - try making soap!!
 
From Wiki

Mustard oil was once considered unsuitable for human consumption in the United States, Canada, and the European Union due to the high content of erucic acid. This is because of early studies in rats. Subsequent studies on rats have shown that they are less able to digest vegetable fats (whether they contain erucic acid or not) than humans and pigs.[4][5][6] Chariton et al. suggests that in rats: “Inefficient activation of erucic acid to erucyl-CoA and a low level of activity of triglyceride lipase and enzymes of betaoxidation for erucic acid probably contribute to the accumulation and retention of cardiac lipid.”[7] Before this process was fully understood it led to the belief that erucic acid and mustard oil were both highly toxic to humans.
 
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