Black sarso is the loud one. Sharp, high in the allyl isothiocyanate that gives mustard its bite, and the traditional choice for achaar, for a tadka that announces itself, and for the winter malish. Yellow sarso carries the same character with the edge taken off: same oil, gentler on an everyday sabzi, easier for anyone new to mustard.

Both are cold pressed mustard oil in the real sense — Truly Cold Pressed in a slow-turning wooden ghaani, never solvent-extracted, never deodorised. Both hold 250°C, the highest smoke point we press, which is why a kadhai of pakoras is well within range.

Cold pressed, wood pressed, lakdi ghani, sarso ka tel — whatever the label happens to say, this is what those words are supposed to mean: mustard seed crushed raw in a slow wooden press, with nothing refined away.

Unfiltered, so sediment settles. Lab-tested every batch, FSSAI 10724999001232, and a 4 to 6 month shelf life because it is pressed in small batches and never left sitting.

Choosing your everyday bottle? Groundnut oil vs mustard oil, region by region.