Ghee and mustard oil are both almost pure fat, but they sit at opposite ends of the scale. On USDA figures, about two-thirds of ghee's fatty acids are saturated, while mustard oil is mostly monounsaturated, and close to half of its fatty acids are erucic acid, which ghee does not contain. In the kitchen the deciding factor is usually flavour: mustard oil is pungent, ghee is mellow.
This is a comparison, not a health ranking. If you are choosing between them for a medical reason, follow your doctor's advice.
At a glance
- On USDA figures, about 66 per cent of ghee's fatty acids are saturated against about 13 per cent of mustard oil's; mustard oil is mostly monounsaturated.
- Erucic acid is mustard oil's largest fatty acid, 41.2 g per 100 g in USDA's record; FSSAI expects 40 to 58 per cent of the fatty acids in mustard-seed oil to be erucic acid, and ghee has none.
- FSSAI limits that do not overlap: an iodine value of 96 to 112 for mustard oil against 25 to 38 for ghee, and a saponification value of 168 to 177 against 205 to 235.
- "Kachi ghani" or "cold pressed" may appear on a label only if the oil's natural allyl isothiocyanate is at least 0.20 per cent; blended oils containing mustard oil made from 8 June 2021 are barred from sale.
- EFSA's tolerable daily intake for erucic acid, 7 mg per kg of body weight, rests on animal studies, and regulators disagree about mustard oil; follow your doctor's advice on health.
What is the main difference between ghee and mustard oil?
Ghee is milk fat with the water and milk solids removed. Mustard oil is pressed or extracted from mustard seeds. Both are close to 100 per cent fat, but ghee is mostly saturated and carries cholesterol and vitamin A, while mustard oil is mostly monounsaturated, has far more polyunsaturated fat, and contains erucic acid.
As in our comparison of ghee and coconut oil, the ghee column uses USDA's fully analysed record for anhydrous butter oil, which FSSAI's standard for milk fat products groups with ghee.
| Per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central) | Ghee (anhydrous butter oil) | Mustard oil |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 876 kcal | 884 kcal |
| Total fat | 99.5 g | 100 g |
| Saturated fat | 61.9 g | 11.6 g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 28.7 g | 59.2 g |
| of which 22:1 (erucic acid) | 0 g | 41.2 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 3.7 g | 21.2 g |
| of which 18:2 (linoleic acid) | 2.25 g | 15.3 g |
| of which 18:3 | 1.45 g | 5.9 g |
| Cholesterol | 256 mg | not listed |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 840 µg | 0 µg |
The fat classes do not add up to total fat because part of any fat's weight is glycerol, the backbone holding the fatty acids. Counting only fatty acids, saturated fat is about 66 per cent of ghee's (61.9 out of 94.3 g) and about 13 per cent of mustard oil's (11.6 out of 92.0 g). USDA's mustard oil record has no cholesterol line, and ICMR-NIN states that cholesterol is found only in animal-source foods.
What is erucic acid, and how much is in mustard oil?
Erucic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid with 22 carbons, written as 22:1. The European Food Safety Authority describes it as present in the oil-rich seeds of the mustard family, particularly rapeseed and mustard. In USDA's mustard oil record it is the largest single fatty acid, 41.2 g per 100 g, about 45 per cent of all fatty acids.
That share is normal for traditional mustard oil. FSSAI's fatty acid table for vegetable oils, under regulation 2.2.7 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, gives the expected range of C22:1 in mustard-seed oil as 40.0 to 58.0 per cent of total fatty acids. The USDA sample sits inside it. Ghee's fatty acid table in the same regulations lists no erucic acid.
Low-erucic seed exists too. EFSA notes that rapeseed cultivated for food use typically has below 0.5 per cent, against over 40 per cent in natural forms of rapeseed and mustard.
What do FSSAI standards say about mustard oil?
FSSAI sets two separate standards. Ordinary mustard oil (sarson ka tel) must come from mustard seeds of the campestris, juncea or napus varieties of Brassica and meet limits on iodine value, saponification value and acid value; its standard carries no 2 per cent erucic acid cap. A separate low-erucic category must contain no more than 2 per cent erucic acid.
The main rules, from regulation 2.2.1 of the Food Products Standards and Food Additives Regulations, 2011 (FSSAI compendium, version XXVI, 20 December 2022):
- Purity: the oil must be clear and free from rancidity, added colouring or flavouring and mineral oil, and the test for argemone oil must be negative.
- Iodine value: 96 to 112 for mustard oil, against 25 to 38 for ghee.
- Saponification value: 168 to 177 for mustard oil, against 205 to 235 for ghee.
- Kachi ghani: the oil may be labelled Kachi Ghani or Cold Pressed only if its natural allyl isothiocyanate content is at least 0.20 per cent by weight.
- Solvent-extracted oil: must be refined before it is sold for eating, with no more than 5.0 ppm hexane; expeller-pressed oil must be free of hexane.
- Low-erucic oil: no more than 2 per cent erucic acid of total fatty acids, with its own iodine range of 105 to 126.
A second set of rules covers blending. The Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, in regulation 2.1.1(11), bar the sale of "any Multi source edible vegetable oil containing Mustard Oil manufactured on or after 8th June, 2021".
Why do regulators treat erucic acid with caution?
Because of animal studies. EFSA's 2016 assessment reports that in tests on animals, eating oils containing erucic acid over time led to a heart condition called myocardial lipidosis, which was temporary and reversible. On that basis EFSA set a tolerable daily intake of 7 mg per kilogram of body weight a day.
EFSA found average consumer exposure below half that level, but flagged a possible long-term risk for children up to 10 who eat a lot of foods containing erucic acid.
Regulators do not agree on mustard oil. A 2022 review in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology describes a conflict between the US FDA, which it says bans mustard oil for cooking, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, which set intake limits, and the Lipid Association of India, which it says recommends mustard oil.
We do not settle that dispute. What the record supports is narrower: Indian standards expect ordinary mustard oil to be high in erucic acid, and a low-erucic category exists if that matters to you or your doctor.
How do ghee and mustard oil behave on heat?
We have not found a published laboratory test that heats ghee and mustard oil side by side, so we do not rank them. What the composition shows is that mustard oil has nearly six times as much polyunsaturated fat as ghee, 21.2 g against 3.7 g per 100 g.
ICMR-NIN's Dietary Guidelines for Indians say that repeated heating of vegetable oils or fat results in oxidation of PUFA, generating harmful compounds. Their household advice is written for vegetable oil once used for frying: filter it, use it for curry rather than frying again, finish it within a day or two and do not store used oil for long.
We give no smoke point figures here. Our article on ghee's smoke point and when it matters explains where that margin counts.
How do ghee and mustard oil taste, and which dishes suit each?
The difference is pungency. Mustard, like wasabi and horseradish, owes its sharpness to isothiocyanate compounds, as a 2004 laboratory study in Nature put it. Ghee has no such bite; FSSAI's definition says its flavour and physical structure come from its method of manufacture. Swapping one for the other changes the taste of a dish.
A practical way to choose:
- Follow the recipe's own fat. A recipe written for mustard oil counts on that sharpness, and a dal, halwa or khichdi written for ghee counts on the dairy note.
- Use ghee where you want richness without pungency. A spoon over rice or dal, or a tadka poured on at the end, is where ghee's flavour shows.
- Use mustard oil where you want it to be tasted. If you want a kachi ghani oil's full pungency, the FSSAI label rule above tells you the oil meets a minimum allyl isothiocyanate content.
Is ghee or mustard oil the better everyday fat?
We do not make that call. ICMR-NIN's guideline on fats is to use oils and fats in moderation and to choose a variety of oilseeds, nuts, nutri-cereals and legumes to meet the need for fats and essential fatty acids. It names ghee among the high saturated-fat fats to limit, and names rapeseed and mustard among the oilseeds that are good sources of both omega-6 and omega-3 fats.
The guidelines also put a ceiling on visible fat: not more than 27 to 30 g of visible fat or cooking oil a day is required on a 2,000 kcal diet. Separately, they say to "Limit ghee or butter to just 1 to 2 teaspoons/day or avoid, if possible". Those are the guideline's own words for the general population, not our advice to you.
Ghee carries vitamin A and cholesterol; mustard oil carries omega-3 and omega-6 fats and erucic acid. Which matters depends on your health and diet. If you are managing cholesterol, a heart condition or any other diagnosis, follow your doctor's advice.
How can you check what is in the jar or bottle?
Read the label against the FSSAI standards above. For mustard oil, check whether it is kachi ghani, refined or low-erucic, and remember that a blended oil containing mustard oil made on or after 8 June 2021 should not be on sale. For ghee, a batch test report is the clearest check.
On a ghee report, compare milk fat, moisture and free fatty acids with FSSAI's limits: at least 99.5 per cent milk fat, at most 0.5 per cent moisture and at most 2.0 per cent free fatty acids. Himdhara publishes the laboratory report for each batch before it ships, so you can read what was tested rather than take it on trust.
The short version
Ghee is mostly saturated fat, with cholesterol and vitamin A; mustard oil is mostly monounsaturated, with far more polyunsaturated fat and roughly 45 per cent of its fatty acids as erucic acid on USDA figures. FSSAI expects 40 to 58 per cent erucic acid in mustard-seed oil, sets a 2 per cent cap only for a separate low-erucic category, and has barred blended oils containing mustard oil made from 8 June 2021. EFSA's erucic acid limit rests on animal studies, and regulators do not all agree. Choose each fat by flavour and dish, keep total visible fat within ICMR-NIN's limits, and leave health decisions to your doctor.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Oil, mustard. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter oil, anhydrous. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2022). Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 (2.1.8 Standard for Milk Fat Products; 2.2.1 Oils: mustard oil and low erucic acid mustard oil; 2.2.7 Fatty acid composition). FSSAI compendium, version XXVI.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2025). Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011 (regulation 2.1.1). FSSAI compendium, version XI.
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition.