Sesame Oil

Cold Pressed Sesame Oil for Cooking

Sesame oil shows up in more kitchens than most people realise. A spoonful in the tempering for a South Indian sambar, a finishing drizzle over a salad, the base for a dosa griddle. It's also one of the oils most often sold without much thought to how it was made. Gramiyaa's cold pressed sesame oil is single cold pressed in wood and stone mills, which is what gives it a mild, earthy flavour instead of the flatter taste most refined sesame oil settles into.

In many South Indian households, this same oil goes by a different name - gingelly oil, or nalla ennai in Tamil kitchens. Same oil, same seed, just a regional name that's stayed in everyday use even as sesame oil became the more common term elsewhere.

What Makes This Wood Pressed Sesame Oil Different

Most commercial sesame oil is extracted with heat and chemical solvents, then refined and deodorised to get a longer shelf life and a more neutral taste. Gramiyaa's wood pressed sesame oil skips that process. The seeds are crushed once, using pressure in wood and stone mills, with no added heat and no chemical solvents, so the oil keeps its natural mild, earthy character instead of having it processed out.

Single Cold Pressed, Not Blended or Refined

Not every oil labelled cold pressed is pressed only once. Some mills press the same batch of seeds multiple times to extract as much oil as possible, which affects the taste and quality of what comes out at the end. Gramiyaa stops at the first press. It's a lower-yield way of making oil, and part of why single cold pressed sesame oil costs more than a mass-produced bottle of the refined version.

Made In-House, Lab-Tested, and Traceable

Every batch is pressed at Gramiyaa's own facility, never bought in bulk from a third party and relabelled. Each one is lab-tested, with the results traceable through the batch number printed on the pack, so you can check exactly which batch you're using and when it was pressed.

Sesame Oil vs Gingelly Oil: Same Oil, Different Names

If you've searched for wood pressed gingelly oil or cold pressed gingelly oil and landed on a sesame oil page instead, that's not a mismatch. Gingelly oil is simply the name sesame oil goes by across much of South India, used interchangeably with sesame oil and til oil depending on the region and the generation doing the cooking. Whether you're looking for gingelly oil for cooking or pure gingelly oil specifically, Gramiyaa's wood cold pressed sesame oil is the same product.

A Note on Black Sesame Oil

Sesame seeds come in a few varieties, and the darker black sesame seed is the one used in a lot of regional cooking. Gramiyaa's sesame oil is single cold pressed from black sesame seeds in wood and stone mill, following the same process used across the rest of the range. So if black sesame oil is what you're looking for, this is it.

Sesame Oil for Cooking: Where It Fits in Your Kitchen

Gramiyaa's sesame oil has a mild, earthy flavour and a smoke point of 190°C, which makes it best suited to sautéing, tempering, and dressing rather than high-heat deep frying. It's the oil behind the tempering in South Indian sambar and rasam, a common base for dosa and uttapam on the griddle, and a finishing oil for salads and chutneys where its flavour can come through without being cooked away.

Cold Pressed vs Refined Sesame Oil

What Pure Sesame Oil Actually Means Here

Pure gets used loosely across the sesame oil aisle, so it's worth being specific about what it means for Gramiyaa. It means the oil is never blended with other oils to stretch a batch, which is common practice with unbranded sesame oil sold loose or under generic labels. It means every batch is pressed in-house rather than bought from an outside supplier and repackaged. And it means the batch is lab-tested, with that information made available to you rather than kept internal. That's what backs the label here, not just the word printed on it.

Buying Gingelly Oil Online: What to Check Before You Order

Sesame and gingelly oil can look near-identical from one listing to the next, which makes it easy to choose on price alone. A few things worth checking before you order online:

• Whether the oil is labelled cold pressed or refined, the two behave differently in the pan and taste noticeably different.
• Whether the brand mentions how many times the batch was pressed, since multiple pressing can affect flavour even in oil marketed as cold pressed.
• Whether the pack protects the oil from light and air, both of which speed up oxidation once the bottle is opened.
• The smoke point listed, especially if you're deciding between this oil and a higher-heat option for frying.
• Whether there's a way to trace the batch back to its source, rather than a general claim about where the oil comes from.

Gramiyaa's sesame oil ships in an opaque, oxygen-free pack, with batch-level traceability built into every order.

Shop Gramiyaa's Cold Pressed Sesame Oil

Available in 1L and 500ml, Gramiyaa's wood pressed sesame oil is priced for everyday tempering and cooking, not occasional use. Want to see exactly where your pack came from? Scan the QR code on it or head to trace.gramiyaa.com to trace your batch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sesame oil the same as gingelly oil?

Yes. Gingelly oil is the name sesame oil commonly goes by across South India. Gramiyaa's wood cold pressed sesame oil is the same product under either name.

What is the smoke point of Gramiyaa's cold pressed sesame oil?

Gramiyaa's sesame oil has a smoke point of 190°C, which makes it suited to sautéing, tempering, and dressing rather than high-heat deep frying.

Is cold pressed sesame oil good for everyday cooking?

Yes. Its mild, earthy flavour and 190°C smoke point make it a good fit for daily sautéing and tempering, alongside its common use in dressings and finishing dishes.

What's the difference between single pressed and multiple pressed sesame oil?

Single pressed sesame oil comes from pressing the seeds only once, which retains more of their natural flavour. Some mills press the same batch multiple times for a higher yield, which can affect taste and quality.

How should I store sesame oil after opening it?

Store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, with the cap closed. Gramiyaa's opaque, oxygen-free pack is designed to help the oil stay fresh through its 12-month shelf life.