Tez Mustard Oil

TEZ mustard oil is made top grade select mustard seeds processed to retain its micro-nutrients and antioxidants. It was recommended to me by some of the top publishing home chefs in India, and I have to say, after playing with it for a bit, it makes a nice addition of a unique oil flavor to my growing stable of oils.

Mustard oil is a pungent, strong flavor, which is great for European/Western palates when used like sesame oil, in moderation with other oils, vinegars or other condiments. Some Indian sub-cultures fry with it, imparting the mustard taste into a variety of foods.

I use it for everything from salad dressings to burgers to fried vegetable fritters, to a riff in my basic mayo and, across the board, it imparts a flavor that using dry, ground, or prepared won’t (I know, I know, but I have to do it!) cut the mustard.

You may wonder why I’m recommending Tez Mustard Oil as a cooking oil when you’ll buy it and the American label plastered over its nutrition information says “For External Use Only.”  Mustard oil, like avocado oil before it, is a culinary world wonder that has been both misunderstood, mislabeled, and mistreated.

Mustard oil is a culinary staple in India, but here, in America, it became sidelined by an old FDA report with a dubious study from years ago about heart health. The fact that millions of people consume it every day, and in limited quantities, and more current studies show that it helps strengthen red blood cells and lower bad cholesterol should help sway you, or that pro chefs have been using it for a long time. Not convinced yet?

The current Food and Drug Administration report from 2015 shows Mustard Oil on the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) list and states:

“The available information shows that the characteristic isothiocyanates, other known constituents, and decomposition products of the essential oils of both mustards, have low orders of oral toxicity in experimental animals. Further, there is no reported evidence that orally administered doses of these constituents are carcinogenic, teratogenic, or mutagenic… There is no evidence in the available information on allyl isothiocyanate, p-hydroxybenzyl isothiocyanate, and brown and yellow mustard that demonstrates, or suggests reasonable grounds to suspect, a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current or that might reasonably be expected in the future.”

Where to Get It: Available in Indian markets, and online at Amazon.com.

I give it my 5-Diamond Choicestuff™ Award as it’s kind of the Extra Virgin of mustard oils. I tried a couple of other mustard oils available, including Dabur and Laxmi and I was not as impressed with the clarity of the flavor.