Sesame Oil for Skin

How Sesame Oil is made

Do you Know Where Your Sesame Seed Oil Comes From?

 

Sesame seeds, as many of you are aware, are a powerful natural health food and a welcome addition to your diet.  They are a nutrient rich powerhouse packed in a tiny package. With a history of over 5,000 years of cultivation and  people from all over the world used them to get their benefits. Sesame oil is is used in cooking and Ayurvedic medicine, and more recently as an excellent moisturizer for skin and hair.

You might want to try the benefits for yourself, but you shy away from commercially produced sources due to possible additives and the nutrient loss involved in processing.  So you would prefer an all natural product. Well then, let’s look at how sesame oil is produced and how you can find safe organic sesame seed oil for your own personnel use.

Sesame seed oil is produced by the pressing and crushing of the seeds to release their oil. There are other processing methods, most of which are manually intensive techniques and some include chemical extraction methods. As you might guess, a large number of seeds are needed to produce every ounce of oil.
First grown in the Indus valley of India where even today the word oil (in many of the dialects and the Tamil language) refers directly to the sesame seed. Today the oil is still considered sacred and used in various religious ceremonies.
Sesame seed oil is now produced in China and in the Middle East, and other developing countries. But, there is a world wide shortage of the seeds so prices for either toasted or untoasted seeds is high right now. Cold pressed oil is the most natural and is still made using methods dating back centuries. These methods while producing a rich golden oil rich with vital nutrients is not the most efficient way to get the oil. Large stone containers and with wooded either mechanically, manually, and in some cases animal powered operated rams crush the seeds and the oil is pressed out. The darker brown oil is produced from toasted sesame seeds. Sesame oil is light sensitive and so must be kept out of direct sunlight to avoid oxidation and making the oil go rancid.
As of this time there are no really large commercially viable growing or harvesting methods for obtaining sesame seeds. It is still done at the village level in India and other third world countries. China is attempting to get larger scale operations up and running for export. Those techniques however use commercial processing and chemical extraction similar to their other mass produced oils, which may reduce the effectiveness and health benefits. China along with Mexico dominate most of the market and now are the world’s largest producers of sesame seeds. China also produces a black sesame seed and the oil from it is a dark glistening ebony-like colour.  It offers a rich nuttier flavor than either the other varieties such as the white or brown grown there and elsewhere in the world.
You now have some idea of the complexity surrounding the production of this oil.  While its health benefits are immense and varied, production, harvesting and processing methods still lag the world’s demand and hence the rising prices. The best oil for health is produced through cold pressing using wood and stone. Modern processing methods such as cooking, steaming and using chemical solutions produces more oil but may reduce the effectiveness and are mainly used for cooking and seasoning. When buying Sesame seed oil for your cooking or health be aware of which type you are purchasing.

How to Make Sesame Seed Oil at Home

Sesame oil is available naturally from sesame seeds. In terms of nutritional values, the oil contains very similar substances as those originally found in its seed form. It has calcium, copper, zinc, iron, magnesium, and more. This oil is commercially available, but you can apply the following extraction methods step-by-step to create homemade sesame oil.

1. Toast the seeds

Put the sesame seeds on a frying pan, and then toast them conventionally on a stove. You can also place the seeds on a baking sheet then put it in an oven (350 degrees F). Remove the seeds from heat after 5 minutes, stir them, and apply heat again for 10 to 20 minutes.

You need to watch the baking process closely, so you can immediately recognize when the seeds become light brown in color and they produce nutty aroma. At this conditions, remove the baking seed or pan. Take the seeds the place them on another plate, so it cools down more quickly.

2. Add sunflower seed oil

The extraction process of sesame seeds oil requires sunflower seeds. Commonly, every ¼ cup of toasted sesame seeds should be mixed with 1 cup of sunflower seed oil. Make the mixture in a pan, and heat it again on a stove with medium heat for several minutes. If you cannot find sunflower seed oil, you can also use peanut oil.

3. Blending

Remove the pan from the stove then pour the mixture into a blender. Blend it until the seeds become small pieces. Allow the blended mixture to sit for approximately two hours.

If you mix sesame seeds with peanut oil, you need to blend the mixture until it becomes a paste-like form. It will only take approximately 45 minutes before the mixture produces sesame oil.

4. Strain off the oil

Video of sesame seed oil extraction using press equipment.

Pour the mixture into an empty bowl covered with clean cheesecloth. This method will prevent the small pieces of seeds from entering the bowl. You will not need to perform this method it you use peanut oil. After 45 minutes, the blended mixture of sesame seeds with peanut oil will naturally settle a layer of oil at the top. You need to scoop it carefully by using a spoon.

The extraction process by using peanut oil takes less time, but it can be difficult to scoop the oil. With sunflower seed oil, the extraction takes more time because you need to leave the mixture for two hours before straining it off.

5. Keep it safe

Store the extracted oil in an airtight container. Place the container in a refrigerator, so it lasts for long period.