What is Sesame Oil?

The Queen of Oils/ Where others fail, sesame prevails/ Big things come in small packages/The survivor crop with all-round health benefits is also gluten-free

A brief history of the magical seed

• It is in the Indian subcontinent (formerly known as the Spice Islands) that historians believe the sesame seed originated
• This drought-resistant crop has been the major oilseed in India since 800 BC
• Venetian traveler Marco Polo encountered the outstanding flavour of sesame oil in Abyssinia The Europeans were introduced to sesame seeds when they were brought from India during 1st Century
• Turkey has been pressing sesame seeds and using sesame oil since 900 BC
• China has used the oil over 5,000 years ago for lighting purposes and to also make stick ink from the soot
• Archaeological findings reveal sesame has been around before the birth of Christ
• Babylonians have used sesame oil as a base for their perfumes, in cooking, making medicines and wine. The Assyrians were also known to make excellent wine from sesame
• Sesame has been cultivated in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and other regions for hundreds of years
• Traditionally, sesame oil has been used in lanterns. The oil is also used in many intra-muscular injections as a carrier to spread the medicine faster

The process of extraction

• Sesame oil, popularly known as gingelly/til oil is one of the world's oldest crop based-oils extracted from sesame seeds
• Having the highest oil content among seeds, the extraction of oil is a painstaking process
• The seed, which is used as a condiment in cooking, bursts only when fully ripe
• Cultivators cut the crop by hand and store it upright to allow the seeds to fully ripen. Sesame seeds are not usable after the seeds burst, so the harvesting is done within a small window of time when the seeds are ripe, but intact
• The process of extraction is manually intensive and is done in a variety of ways — cold, bridge or ram pressing
• Used in cooking and for health purposes, the oil owes its unique properties to a balanced fatty acid profile
• The light coloured oil is made from untoasted seeds in the Middle East, the darker oil from toasted seeds is used predominantly in Asia as it complements the cuisine

Experiment with sesame oil in different cuisines to test its flexibility and flavour. Once you're done, rub some of the oil over your skin or use a spoon of it for oil pulling and feel great from head to toe!

NO CHOLESTROL, NO TRANSFAT, 100% NATURAL

Thiagarajan Agro Products (P) Ltd has perfected the process of extraction over 30 years in the industry and recommends the product for its scientifically-proven health benefits. We keepthe rich ancient knowledge surrounding the benefits of sesame oil alive by developing and delivering the highest quality to customers around the world.