What is Mustard Oil & What Are Its Benefits?

Mustard oil is a versatile cooking and salad oil that has many health benefits. With a pungent smell and tangy taste, it can add some heat to a meal or transform a salad into something more exotic and colorful. Though traditionally made from mustard seeds, you can also use sesame seeds and walnuts as alternatives to mustard oil. People have been using mustard seeds in their kitchens for centuries now. The ancient Romans enjoyed the sweet flavor of boiled Mustard Seed with water as an accompaniment for their bread at breakfast time, while Indian cooks still make a fresh mustard paste with yellow or brown rice flour. You can also use sesame seeds and walnuts as alternatives to mustard oil. Raw mustard oil has a very strong taste and hence is not preferred for cooking. Order pure mustard seed oil and enjoy all its benefits.

How is mustard oil made from mustard seeds?

Step 1: Oil Extraction

The first step in making mustard oil is to extract the oil from the seeds. In this step, whole mustard seeds are ground into a paste, and then pressed under high pressure to extract the oil.

Step 2: Thorough Cleaning

After being pressed, the extracted oil has a pungent smell and needs to be thoroughly cleaned before it can be bottled for sale. The cleaning process involves boiling a mixture of water and sodium bisulfate for about an hour. This mixture is then added to cold water for an hour or so until it is at room temperature. At that point, additives are added and stirred well into the mixture.

Step 3: Bottling

Now the paste is ready to be bottled. Remember to ensure the bottles are clean and dry before the paste is added, or else the oil can go moldy or rancid due to exposure to moisture.

Mustard Oil Uses:

Cooking: When used for cooking, mustard oil gives a nutty taste and is often preferred by people who are looking to cut down on the use of hydrogenated oil in their diets. It is a good cooking oil during summer as it can help beat the heat.

Eating: People also use it in their salads, cold drinks, or even their yogurt or other dairy products to add some spice. It can also be used as a flavoring agent in your dishes and salads. If you decide to go with this option, purchase powdered mustard seeds instead of whole ones as the powder binds together better than the whole ones for use in recipes.

Relief for the common cold: Mix 2 tsp of mustard oil mixed with 2 tsp of honey and 3 to 4 drops of lime juice. Have this mixture thrice a day for three days to cure your common cold.

Relief from acne – Mix 3 drops of mustard oil in one teaspoon of olive or coconut oil and apply it on the face once daily before bathing for two weeks. Regular consumption of whole-grain foods can also help lower the incidence and severity of acne. Buy cold-pressed croton oil and use mustard oil for better results.

Health benefits of mustard oil:

1) Its anti-inflammatory properties make it useful for treating rheumatic conditions and skin disorders.

2) It provides health benefits for the heart by preventing clogged arteries and lowering blood pressure.

3) It can help in weight loss by suppressing the appetite and inhibiting fat production.

4) It also has excellent antimicrobial properties, which make it useful in fighting colds and sore throats.

5) This saturated fat has been shown to lower cholesterol levels, as well as prevent cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some forms of cancer.

6) It’s very important to get your daily dose of healthy fats from sources other than meat or dairy products since most dairy cows are fed high amounts of grains, which have been linked to obesity.