Sesame oil comes from the seeds of the sesame plant (Sesamum indicum), one of the oldest oilseed crops in human history. The small, oval seeds contain 50 to 55 percent oil by weight, making sesame one of the most oil-rich seeds cultivated for food. That oil is extracted by pressing the seeds, either raw or after toasting, producing two distinct products used in kitchens worldwide.
The Sesame Plant
Sesame is a flowering annual that thrives in hot climates with well-drained, sandy loam soils. It’s notably drought-tolerant and can handle extreme heat better than cool temperatures. Seeds need soil temperatures of at least 70°F to germinate. The plant produces elongated seed capsules, each about 1 to 1.5 inches long, divided into eight rows of tiny seeds. When the capsules mature, they split open to release the seeds, which can be white, yellow, brown, or black depending on the variety.
The plant cannot survive standing water or high-salinity environments, which is why it grows best in regions with dry, warm growing seasons. Today, the top sesame-producing countries are Myanmar, India, and Tanzania, collectively growing the majority of the world’s supply.
A Crop With Ancient Roots
Sesame cultivation traces back to the Indian subcontinent. Charred sesame seeds excavated at the Indus civilization site of Harappa date to roughly 3050 to 3500 B.C., making it one of the earliest known oilseed crops. From India, both the plant and its oil spread westward to Mesopotamia, where sesame became a staple crop planted after the spring barley harvest. By the fifth century B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus wrote that sesame was the only oil used in Babylonia.
The Vedic scriptures of India, dating to around 1000 B.C., reference sesame frequently. It later appeared in the economies of Armenia and South Arabia. Records of sesame in Egypt and China are comparatively late, arriving around the third century B.C. For thousands of years, sesame oil served as one of the primary cooking and lamp oils across South Asia and the Middle East before olive oil and other vegetable oils became dominant in different regions.
How the Oil Is Extracted
The basic process starts with cleaning the raw seeds to remove stones, debris, and other particles. Seeds are washed with water and dried, typically in sunlight. From there, extraction can follow traditional or modern methods, but the core principle is the same: crushing the seeds to release the oil trapped inside.
Traditional extraction in parts of South and Southeast Asia uses a mortar-and-pestle arrangement called a “sekkuwa” in Sri Lanka. Historically powered by oxen or donkeys walking in circles, these stone mills slowly grind the seeds and squeeze out the oil. Some of these devices are still in use today, now driven by small motors instead of animals.
Modern industrial extraction uses electrically powered mechanical presses that work on the same grinding principle but with far greater efficiency. During pressing, friction raises the temperature to around 40°C (104°F). Cold-pressed sesame oil keeps temperatures low to preserve delicate flavors and nutrients. Because sesame seeds yield 50 to 57 percent oil depending on the variety and growing conditions, the return is high compared to many other oilseed crops. A kilogram of quality seeds can produce roughly half a kilogram of oil.
Light vs. Toasted Sesame Oil
The two types of sesame oil you’ll find in stores come from the same seeds, processed differently. Light (or regular) sesame oil is pressed from raw seeds. It has a pale golden color, a mild and slightly nutty flavor, and a higher smoke point that makes it suitable for sautéing and frying.
Toasted sesame oil is made by roasting the seeds before pressing. The heat transforms the flavor, intensifying the nuttiness into something rich and aromatic, similar to how toasting spices deepens their character. The resulting oil is dark amber to brown with a strong, distinctive taste. It’s used primarily as a finishing oil, drizzled over stir-fries, noodles, soups, and dressings rather than used as a cooking fat.
White, Black, and Brown Seeds
Not all sesame seeds produce identical oil. White and black sesame are the two most widely grown varieties, with yellow and brown types also in cultivation. The color difference isn’t just cosmetic: it reflects meaningful differences in composition.
White sesame seeds tend to have the highest oil content. As seed coat color deepens, oil content gradually decreases while protein content rises. Black sesame seeds contain more protein than white seeds but yield somewhat less oil per kilogram. In many Asian countries, black sesame is considered more healthful, and the chemistry supports at least part of that reputation. Black seeds contain the highest levels of protective plant compounds called lignans. The total lignan content in black sesame ranges from 3.56 to 12.76 mg per gram of seed, compared to 2.83 to 5.66 mg/g in white sesame.
What Makes Sesame Oil Nutritionally Distinct
Sesame oil’s fatty acid profile is dominated by two unsaturated fats: linoleic acid (around 41 to 46 percent) and oleic acid (around 38 to 39 percent). Together, these make up over 80 percent of the oil. Saturated fats account for less than 20 percent, primarily palmitic acid (8 to 12 percent) and stearic acid (5 to 6 percent). This composition places sesame oil in the oleic-linoleic group alongside sunflower and safflower oils.
What sets sesame oil apart from other cooking oils is its lignan content. Lignans are a class of plant compounds that act as antioxidants, and sesame contains several that are rare or unique to the species. These compounds help explain why sesame oil resists rancidity better than most polyunsaturated oils, staying shelf-stable longer than its fatty acid profile alone would predict. The concentration of these lignans varies with seed color, growing region, and extraction method, but they’re present in meaningful amounts across all varieties.