Why We Like It
- Cold-pressed and unrefined, keeping the compounds refining strips out.
- The pungency is the point — the isothiocyanates survive kachi ghani pressing and do not survive refining.
- Argemone is the classic mustard adulterant and cannot be seen or tasted, so sourcing carries the weight here.
Ingredients
Organic mustard seed oil (100%)
Single ingredientCold-pressed from certified organic mustard seed on a kachi ghani. Nothing else goes in.
No blended oils
Not usedSince 2021 India has prohibited blending mustard oil with any other edible oil, so mustard oil sold here is mustard oil alone.
No added antioxidants or preservatives
Not usedNo TBHQ, BHA or BHT, the synthetic antioxidants permitted in refined cooking oils.
Pure & Sure Cold-Pressed Mustard Oil versus other mustard oils
| What to compare | Purepicked | Regular mustard oil |
|---|---|---|
| Extraction | Cold-pressed (kachi ghani) | Usually refined; blending with cheaper oils was common before the 2021 rules |
| Pungency | Sharp — the isothiocyanates are intact | Refined oil is milder and flatter |
| Colour | Deep amber, unbleached | Paler after refining |
| Farming | Certified organic, PGS certified | Usually conventional, with no residue testing published |
Is It For You?
Good for
Pickles and achar, where mustard oil is traditional
Bengali, Bihari, Odia and Kashmiri cooking
Fish, prawn and mustard-forward gravies
Tadka, sautéing and shallow frying
Avoid if
Anyone who wants a neutral cooking oil — cold-pressed mustard oil is pungent and assertive
Cooks unfamiliar with smoking the oil first, which most traditional mustard-oil recipes call for
Anyone outside India buying to a market where mustard oil is sold for external use only
How to use
Heat until it just begins to smoke, then let it settle a moment before adding spices — this mellows the raw sharpness
Use as the base oil for achar; it is part of the preserving as well as the flavour
Good for tadka, fish, shallow frying and mustard-based gravies
Use raw sparingly; the bite is much stronger unheated
What to look for in Mustard Oil?
Look for cold-pressed, wood-pressed or ghani on the pack. Refined oils are usually hexane-extracted, and that step is never declared.
The ingredient list should read as one oil. Blends are legal but dilute what you are paying for.
Unrefined oil carries its own colour and smell. A pale, odourless oil has been bleached and deodorised.
Buy a size you will finish in a few months. Unrefined oil oxidises faster than refined.
Argemone oil is the classic mustard adulterant and causes dropsy. It cannot be seen or tasted, so buy from brands that test for it.