If you have ever eaten a proper South Indian meal, the one that comes on a banana leaf with rice, sambar, and a small bowl of something pickled on the side, there is a good chance sesame oil was somewhere in that meal.
Til ka tel. Nalla ennai. Gingelly oil. The name varies depending on where in India you are, but the oil is the same. One of the oldest pressed oils in human history, and one that has always been there in Indian kitchens for generations.
What has changed is how it is made. And that difference, between oil pressed carefully from a good seed and oil extracted quickly at scale, is worth understanding if you are planning to buy your next bottle.
Understanding Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is pressed from sesame seeds, one of the simplest explanations for one of the most complex flavoured oils in any kitchen. The seed itself is small, flat, and unassuming. What comes out when they are pressed carefully is a different story entirely.
There are broadly two types worth knowing about.
Cold-pressed sesame oil is light in colour, mild in flavour, and retains the seed's natural compounds. This is the oil used for everyday cooking, tempering, and in Ayurvedic practice.
Toasted sesame oil, darker and more intensely flavoured, is made from roasted seeds and is used primarily as a finishing oil in East and Southeast Asian cooking. It is not the same product and is not interchangeable in most recipes.
The distinction matters because a lot of what is sold as sesame oil sits somewhere between these two, processed enough to lose character but not refined enough to have a clear identity. Knowing what you are looking for before you buy is the first step to actually getting it.
You are right. I skipped the history section entirely and went straight to the process section. That was a clear mistake.
How Old Is Sesame Oil Really?
Most ingredients have a history. Sesame oil has a civilization behind it.
Archaeological evidence suggests sesame was first domesticated in the Indian subcontinent around 5,500 years ago. The Harappan civilisation of the Indus Valley not only cultivated it but traded sesame oil to Mesopotamia, where it was known as ilu in Sumerian. That means Indian sesame oil was being exported to what is now Iraq nearly four and a half thousand years ago.
Egyptian tombs contained sesame seeds dating to 1500 BC, and the crop earned the nickname Queen of Oilseeds due to its high oil content and natural resistance to rancidity. That resistance made it invaluable long before refrigeration existed.
Through the Vedic period, sesame was considered sacred. The Vedas mention its use in rituals and ceremonies. Ayurveda documented its use in massage, hair care, and internal consumption. It moved between the kitchen, the medicine cabinet, and the prayer room, and we all kept using it.
How Is Gir Organic Sesame Oil Made?
The process begins before the pressing even starts. With the seed.
Every black sesame seed used in Gir Organic's sesame oil is grown on their own certified organic farm, hand-picked, and carefully cleaned so that only the best seeds go into each batch. An oil pressed from a poor seed, however carefully done, will always reflect that starting point.
Once the seeds are selected and cleaned, they are dried. This step eliminates any trace of moisture that could compromise the quality of the oil during pressing. It is unglamorous work, but it matters.
Then comes the pressing. Gir Organic uses the traditional Kachi Ghani method, running the wooden press at a slow 10 to 12 RPM. That low speed is deliberate. Because the heat generated by the pressure is minimal at low speeds, compounds sensitive to high temperatures are preserved in the final oil.
After pressing, the raw oil is allowed to rest so that heavier particles settle naturally. It is then filtered and bottled.
What makes wood pressed different from other cold-pressed oils is also worth understanding. The oil extracted using the wood-pressed method is always cold-pressed. But cold-pressed oil is not always cold-pressed.
In the oil itself, the difference shows up in the colour, the aroma, and the flavour in ways that are difficult to miss once you know the difference.
What Are The Health Benefits of Cold-Pressed Sesame Oil?
Cold-pressed sesame oil retains compounds that refined versions largely lose. Here is what those compounds actually do.
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Sesamol, Sesamin And Lignans: The primary lignans in sesame oil, sesamin, sesamolin, and sesamol, exhibit antioxidant activity by reducing inflammation and controlling blood pressure levels. These antioxidants protect cells from oxidative stress, and cold pressing is what retains them.
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Heart Health: Sesame oil contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which help prevent the development of plaque in the arteries. It lowers triglyceride levels and increases good cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of developing heart disease.
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Anti-inflammatory Properties: The bioactive compounds in sesame oil possess anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to protect the liver, heart, kidneys, and other organ systems.
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Blood Sugar And Metabolism: Sesame oil regulates blood sugar and may have favourable effects on people with fatty liver disease.
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Skin And Hair: Sesame oil has been used topically in Ayurvedic practice for centuries. Polyunsaturated fats, vitamin E, sesamol, and sesamin may reduce blood pressure and support skin health.
These benefits apply to oil that has been pressed carefully and stored correctly. Fresh, properly stored cold-pressed sesame oil is a very different thing from what most people are actually buying. So, let’s know what you should be looking for when you are buying one.
What To Look For When Buying Cold-Pressed Sesame Oil?
As cold-pressed sesame oil becomes more widely available, so do products that use the language without the process. A few things worth checking before you buy.
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Cold-pressed or Wood-pressed: The extraction method should be specifically mentioned on the label. Words like pure or natural tell you nothing about how the oil was actually made.
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Seed Type: Black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds produce different oils with different nutritional profiles. A brand that is specific about which seed it uses is usually more careful about everything else, too.
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The Colour And Smell: Genuine cold-pressed sesame oil has a warm golden colour and a distinct nutty aroma. If it looks pale and smells like very little, it has likely been refined.
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Shelf Life: Real cold-pressed sesame oil retains the natural compounds of the seed, which means it does not last indefinitely. A product claiming a shelf life of two years or more has probably been processed in ways the label is not telling you.
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Source: The best brands will tell you where the seeds come from, how the oil is pressed, and how big each batch is. If a brand cannot answer these questions clearly, that itself is worth noting.
Final Thoughts
Sesame oil is one of those ingredients that has never needed reinventing. It has been pressed from the same seed, in roughly the same way, for thousands of years across this subcontinent. The kitchens that used it knew what they were doing. The Ayurvedic practitioners who documented it knew what they were working with.
What changed was not the oil. What changed was the priority. Speed, scale, and shelf life became the measure of a good product, and somewhere in that shift, the oil that reached most kitchens stopped being what it used to be.
A Note From Gir Organic
At Gir Organic, our sesame oil starts on our own certified organic farm. The seeds are hand-picked, carefully cleaned, and pressed slowly using the traditional Kachi Ghani method at 10 to 12 RPM.
We make it in small batches because that is the only way to do this properly. And we are transparent about every step because we believe you deserve to know exactly what you are buying.
If you have been looking for sesame oil that actually tastes like sesame, try ours.