Sesame oil has been used in Indian kitchens and Ayurvedic medicine for over three thousand years. What is sold in most supermarkets today is a pale, odourless imitation of the real thing.
What is real cold pressed sesame oil?
Real sesame oil — til tel — is extracted by pressing whole sesame seeds at low temperature. No heat roasting before pressing for the cold pressed variety. No chemical solvents. The oil that emerges is a deep amber-golden colour with a rich, nutty, slightly earthy aroma that is immediately recognisable and completely unlike anything that comes out of a refined oil bottle.
This oil is dense with sesamin and sesamolin — two lignans unique to sesame that function as powerful natural antioxidants and have been studied for their anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-regulating, and liver-protective properties. It is rich in Vitamin E. It has a balanced omega-6 profile. And it has a flavour depth that transforms South Indian cooking, marinades, and traditional recipes in a way that refined oil simply cannot.
Ayurveda has used sesame oil — tila taila — for thousands of years in Abhyanga (self-massage), Nasya (nasal therapy), and therapeutic cooking. The oil used in these practices was cold pressed. What Ayurveda recommends and what is sold in most stores today are not the same product.
What makes a great cold pressed sesame oil?
- Deep amber-golden colour — Natural, unrefined sesame oil ranges from golden to dark amber depending on seed variety and press. Pale or clear sesame oil has been bleached.
- Rich, nutty aroma — Unmistakable. Heat a small amount and the kitchen fills with it. Cold pressed sesame oil smells like toasted sesame seeds even before heating.
- Full flavour — The taste is nutty, slightly bitter, and complex. It should contribute to the flavour of a dish, not disappear into it.
- Natural cloudiness possible — Unrefined sesame oil may have slight natural cloudiness or fine particles. This is normal and is a sign of minimal processing.
- White sesame seeds preferred — White sesame seeds produce a lighter, more versatile cold pressed oil. Black sesame seeds produce a darker, more intensely flavoured oil used in specific recipes.
What the sesame oil industry does to the real thing.
The refining process strips everything
Commercial sesame oil goes through the same RBD process as other refined oils — solvent extraction, degumming, neutralisation, bleaching, and deodorisation. By the end of this process, the oil is pale, odourless, and nutritionally diminished. The sesamin and sesamolin content — the most valuable compounds in sesame oil — are significantly reduced. The natural Vitamin E is largely destroyed. The flavour is gone entirely.
This refined oil is then sold as "sesame oil" with a sesame graphic on the bottle. Technically accurate. Practically misleading.
Blending with cheaper oils
Sesame oil commands a price premium because sesame seeds are relatively expensive to source and press. A common adulterant practice is blending sesame oil with cheaper refined oils — soybean, sunflower, or rice bran — in ratios of 30 to 50 percent. The result still smells vaguely of sesame because artificial sesame flavouring is added back after blending. Unless you have tasted the real thing, you would not know the difference.
Artificial flavouring passed off as real aroma
Perhaps the most widespread deception in the sesame oil category: refined or blended sesame oil with synthetic sesame flavouring added. The bottle smells like sesame. The label says sesame oil. The oil inside is mostly refined soybean oil with flavouring. This is not hypothetical — it is the standard practice for bottom-of-market sesame oil products across India.
Roasted vs cold pressed confusion
There are two legitimate types of sesame oil — cold pressed (from raw seeds, suitable for cooking and Ayurvedic use) and toasted/roasted (from roasted seeds, used as a finishing oil in Asian cooking). Many brands blur this distinction, marketing toasted sesame oil as "cold pressed" because both are technically mechanical extractions. Toasted sesame oil is not suitable for high-heat cooking or Ayurvedic therapeutic use. Know what you are buying.
Why Spicewale Cold Pressed Sesame Oil is different.
Cold pressed from raw white sesame seeds. Not roasted. Not solvent extracted. Mechanically pressed at low temperature to preserve the full sesamin, sesamolin, and Vitamin E content of the seed.
No blending. What is in the bottle is sesame oil and only sesame oil. No soybean, no sunflower, no rice bran. No artificial sesame flavouring added back.
The colour tells the story. Our sesame oil is amber-golden. Not pale. Not clear. The colour is natural — from the seed's own pigments that survive because we do not bleach.
The aroma is the proof. Open the bottle. It should smell immediately of sesame. Heat a tablespoon in a pan — the aroma should fill the room. If it does not, the oil has been processed in a way that removed what made it valuable.
Ayurvedic quality. Our cold pressed sesame oil is suitable for Abhyanga — the Ayurvedic full-body oil massage practice that specifically requires unrefined, cold pressed til tel. The refined version sold in most stores is not appropriate for this use.
Sourced and cleaned in-house. We source white sesame seeds directly at the mandi level in Jodhpur, clean them in-house before pressing, and press in small batches to maintain quality consistency.
At ₹340 per litre, this is real til tel at an honest price. The same oil your grandmother's kitchen smelled of. The same oil three thousand years of Ayurvedic practice was built on.
Andar se saaf. From sesame seed to your kitchen — nothing added, nothing removed that should stay.
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