Mustard Oil

#### Mustard Oil. The trade usually speaks of two kinds of mustard seed: **Black Mustard **and **White Mustard**. Only the **Black Mustard **yields an essential oil. Consequently, Mustard Oil is always the essential oil from the seeds of **Brassica**** ****Nigra**. There is another variety of mustard, called “**Sarepta**” or “**Russian Mustard**”, produced from **Brassica**** ****Juncea**, whose seed also yield an essential oil on distillation. **Brassica**** ****Nigra**** **originated in southeastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean countries, Asia Minor, etc., and it is cultivated in the coastal area of northeastern Abyssinia (formerly Erithrea). The Russian variety originated in southern Russia, India and northern Iran. Table mustard made with “Russian” mustard is considerably more pungent than that from ordinary black mustard seed. In India, a local variety is used, **Brassica**** ****Integrifolia**, and in China and the Far East, still another**, Brassica Cernua**. These have little or no importance on the American or European markets. **Mustard Oil **is produced by steam-and-water distillation of the enzymatically hydrolyzed suspension of comminuted press-cakes of black mustard seed in warm water. The essential oil is not present as such in the seed (compare to bitter almond oil, etc.). A glycoside, located in certain cells, is decomposed by hydrolysis under the influence of an enzyme which is present in other cells in the seed. Comminuted and triturated in warm water, the seeds will release glycoside and enzyme, and form the essential oil which is steam distillable. **Mustard Oil **consists almost entirely of **Allyl Isothiocyanate **which is also produced synthetically on a commercial scale. This material is often offered under the name of “artificial” or “synthetic” mustard oil, occasionally called “allyl mustard oil”. As a matter of fact, the largest part by far of all **Mustard Oil **sold today is synthetic allyl isothiocyanate. **Black**** ****Mustard**** **is cultivated in Holland, Denmark and southern Europe. The two varieties of black mustard will both yield an odorous mixture when triturated with water at room temperature. The odor is sharp, acrylic, lachrymatory. **White Mustard **will not produce an odorous triturate with water (see **Mustard, White **in the following monograph). **Mustard**** ****Oil**** **is a water-white to pale yellow, mobile liquid of extremely sharp, acrylic, irritating odor, and of lachrymatory effect. It is a powerful skin-irritant and it is used in medicine for this effect (as a so-called rubefacient). The oil finds extensive use in the pickle and canning industries, in household seasonings, table sauces, etc. The oil is definitely not recommended for use in perfumery, although traces can have quite interesting effects in the most unusual perfume bases, e.g. violet, geranium, hyacinth, etc. When crushed seed of **Black Mustard **is triturated with vinegar, salt and water, the preparation is called **German**** ****Prepared**** ****Mustard**, the flavor effect being different, richer than that of a plain watertrituration. The seeds of **Black Mustard**** **contain 30 to *35% *vegetable, non-volatile (“fixed”) oil, which can be used as a household cooking oil. In this respect, however, the fixed oil from White Mustard is more important. Oil of **Black**** ****Mustard**** **is freely available, but, as mentioned above, usually as a synthetic chemical. See also: **Mustard,**** ****White**** **and **Horseradish**.