the surfaces of oil droplets and thus stabilize
such sauce emulsions as mayonnaise and
vinaigrette (p. 628). The seedcoat of white
mustard is especially rich in mucilage (up to
5% of the seed weight), and ground white
mustard is used in sausages to help bind the
meat particles together.
Mustard oil is a traditional cooking oil in
Pakistan and in Northern India, where it lends
a distinctive flavor to Bengali fish dishes,
pickles, and other preparations. In much of the
West, the sale of mustard oil for food use is
illegal, for two reasons: it contains large
quantities of an unusual fatty acid, erucic
acid; and it contains irritating isothiocyanates.
Erucic acid causes heart damage in laboratory
animals; its significance for human health
isn’t known. Though our mustard condiments
contain the same isothiocyanates as mustard
oil, it’s possible that daily exposure through
foods cooked in the oil could have harmful
long-term effects. So far, medical studies are
barry
(Barry)
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