Toasted Vs Regular Sesame Seed Oil: What's The Difference?

The unique taste and fragrance of sesame oil most likely conjures up images of Chinese or Japanese cuisine, but this oil has a long history in cooking right across Asia, India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. If you're curious why all these cuisines don't share a strong nutty flavor, it's because not all sesame oils are the same. Sesame oil is extracted simply by pressing sesame seeds, but depending on whether raw or toasted seeds are used, you'll end up with a very different product.

Oil made from raw sesame seeds is light in color with a mild flavor and has a higher smoke point. This is usually sold simply as "sesame oil", raw sesame oil or light sesame oil. By toasting the sesame seeds before extraction, they develop the rich nutty flavor that you most likely associate with those common dishes that use sesame oil. It has a lower smoke point that makes it more suitable as a finishing oil rather than cooking with. Toasted sesame oil is usually labeled as such but can also be identified by its deeper color, ranging from yellow to dark brown. Once you know how to use the two varieties of this oil, you'll see that both regular and toasted warrant a place in your cooking.

Regular sesame oil is versatile enough to be a pantry staple. Although it has a mild nutty taste, it's considered a neutral oil, and with a smoke point of around 410 degrees, it can be used anywhere you might use canola or grapeseed oil. It's even the recommended oil for frying tempura. One reason it's perhaps not more common as a general cooking oil is the higher cost than something such as canola.

Toasted sesame oil on the other hand, has tendency to turn bitter when heated to high temperatures, so it's often used at the end of cooking. However, it can be used anywhere you want to add a rich nutty flavor — in simple dipping sauces, to round out a soup, or to elevate sauteed vegetables. It's a simple swap for olive oil that will transform your salad dressing, especially for an Asian-inspired noodle salad. Toasted sesame oils can be just as expensive than the regular variety, but you will be using them more sparingly. If you plan to make the sesame flavor the star of the show, like on an ice cream sundae, then it's worth paying more for better quality.