Sesame

Sesame oil is known as one of the oldest edible oils, extracted from seeds of the sesame plant. The plant is cultivated around the world but we source our organic seeds mainly from the African continent. The plant can reach a height of two meters, after a period of five months the seeds can be harvest, depending on the growing conditions. The seeds grow in a capsule, once the seeds are ripe the capsule will pop open and the seeds can be collected. There are a few different methods for harvesting sesame seeds, but the most common method is to cut the stalks of the sesame plants near the base of the plant and then place them in bundles to dry. Once the stalks are dry, the seeds can be threshed (separated from the stalks) by hand or with the use of a machine. Although the sesame seeds are very small the oil yield can be up to 40%.

Processing the seeds to oil takes place in Europe so the quality can be controlled according to the highest requirements. The oil cakes are used for feed purposes. We offer three types of organic sesame oil: virgin, roasted and refined. While the virgin oil is purely pressed from the seeds and filtered, in roasted grade the seeds are first roasted at high temperature before being pressed into oil, it gives the oil a more nutty taste and darker color. For refined oil we bring the virgin oil to a refinery in The Netherlands.

Sesame oil is used for cooking because of its high smoke point and high portion of unsaturated acids. it can also be a fine addition to Asian dishes, together with sesame seeds. In the cosmetic industry sesame oil is used as a base oil.