March 11th, No Smoking Day, feels like a good moment to talk about something we rarely discuss in the kitchen: the smoke point of cooking oils.
The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil begins to visibly smoke and break down. When that happens, the oil starts losing nutritional value, develops a burnt and bitter flavour, and can release compounds that aren’t ideal for cooking.
It’s a small detail, but it makes a big difference to both health and taste.
One of the most common myths we hear is that cold pressed oils shouldn’t be used for high heat cooking or frying.
The truth is more nuanced.
The suitability of an oil for cooking depends on its natural composition and smoke point, not simply whether it is cold pressed or refined.
Unlike refined oils, which undergo chemical processing and high-heat refining, cold pressing preserves more of the oil’s natural nutrients, flavour compounds, and antioxidants.
So you’re not just cooking with oil that performs well at heat but, you’re cooking with oil that retains more of what nature intended.
Why Some Cold Pressed Oils Smoke Faster
When people notice cold pressed oils smoking quickly, it’s often not the oil itself, but something else at play.
With wood cold pressed oils, tiny natural sediments from the seeds or nuts can remain suspended in the oil after pressing. These are microscopic particles left over from the extraction process.
When you heat oil in a pan, these sediments are usually the first things to hit the heat, which means they can start sizzling or smoking before the oil itself reaches its actual smoke point.
This is why proper settling and filtration are critical in cold pressed oils.
What We Do Differently at Gramiyaa
At Gramiyaa, we take a few additional steps to ensure our oils perform better in real kitchens.
After pressing, we allow the oil to rest in sedimentation tanks for 2–3 days. During this time, the heavier particles naturally settle at the bottom.
The oil is then passed through multiple layers of cotton cloth filtration, around 25–30 layers using 350 GSM cotton fabric.
This process helps remove remaining sediments while still preserving the oil’s natural nutrients and flavour.
The result:
- Cleaner oil
- Better stability during cooking
- Longer shelf life
- More consistent smoke behaviour in the pan
Oils and Their Cooking Temperatures
At Gramiyaa, our oils are designed for real kitchens and real cooking styles, not just finishing dishes.
For example:
- Groundnut Oil: handles heat up to ~220°C, making it ideal for deep frying, tempering, sautéing
- Mustard Oil: stable up to ~200°C and widely used for marinating, sautéing, frying.
- Coconut Oil: handles heat up to ~190°C, making it ideal for sautéing, baking, slow-cooking
- Virgin Coconut Oil: stable up to ~190°C and widely used for baking, gentle roasting, dressing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: stable up to ~185°C and widely used for air-frying, sautéing, garnishing
- Sesame Oil: performs well up to ~190°C, perfect for sautéing, tempering, dressing.
Switching from refined oils to well-made cold pressed oils doesn’t mean compromising on cooking style.
It simply means understanding your oil better.
Because sometimes the most important cooking lessons aren’t about recipes or techniques — they’re about knowing the ingredients you cook with every day.
And knowing your oil’s smoke point is a good place to start.
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