Mustard oil vs Groundnut oil: nutrition per 100 g

Every cooking oil is close to 100 g of fat per 100 g, and mustard and groundnut oil are no exception. That means a spoon of either adds the same, very high, amount of energy to a dish. Each is given 884 kcal per 100 g in this data set, a value calculated from the fat rather than measured, because pure fat is the most energy-dense part of any food. The useful comparison is how that fat splits into saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which affects blood cholesterol over time.

Mustard oil has 5.72 g of saturated fat per 100 g, among the lowest of any cooking fat in the tables. Groundnut oil has 18.94 g, about 3.3 times as much, a gap of 13.22 g. Diets high in saturated fat tend to raise LDL cholesterol, so for that measure mustard oil comes out ahead.

Both oils are rich in monounsaturated fat, the kind that dominates olive oil. Mustard oil has 67.09 g per 100 g and groundnut oil 53.89 g. Much of mustard oil's monounsaturated fat is erucic acid, a fatty acid that IFCT 2017 does not list separately and that some countries limit in cooking oils; India has cooked with mustard oil for centuries, and low-erucic varieties are also sold. Polyunsaturated fat is identical, 27.19 g and 27.17 g.

Mustard oil has 11640 mg of ALA, the plant omega-3 fat, per 100 g, ranking 2nd of 203 foods with a value and 1st among the oils. IFCT 2017 lists no ALA for groundnut oil, whose polyunsaturated fat is mostly omega-6 linoleic acid. A better balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fats is one reason dietitians suggest including an omega-3 rich oil such as mustard oil in a household's rotation.

Mustard oil is the cooking fat of Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kashmir. Its sharp, nose-tingling pungency defines shorshe ilish, macher jhol, Kashmiri rogan josh and almost every north Indian pickle. Cooks often heat kachi ghani oil until it just smokes, then cool it slightly, to soften the bite. Groundnut oil is the everyday oil of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu: mild, nutty and stable for deep frying farsan, vada and bhajji. Neither oil is better at every job, and the dish often decides.

ICMR-NIN guidance encourages Indian households to use a combination of oils rather than a single one, because no oil has the ideal mix of fatty acids on its own. Pairing a low-saturated, omega-3 rich oil such as mustard with a monounsaturated-rich oil such as groundnut is one simple way to do this. Equally important is the total amount: frying, generous tadkas and repeated reheating of oil add up faster than most people think.