Introduction: The Oil on Your Shelf Is Not What It Used to Be
Fifty years ago, most Indian kitchens used oil extracted from the local kachi ghani — a wooden press operated by a bullock or a hand-turned wheel. The oil was dark, fragrant, and nutrient-rich.
Then came industrial refining, which could process 10 times more oil at a fraction of the cost. Today, the refined oil bottle on your shelf has passed through chemical extraction, high-heat processing, bleaching, and deodorising before it reaches you.
This article explains exactly what that means for your health — and what you can do about it.
How Each Oil Is Made
1. Cold-Pressed / Kachi Ghani Method
- Seeds or nuts are cleaned and fed into a wooden or mechanical press
- Pressed slowly at temperatures below 40°C
- Oil flows out naturally — no chemicals, no heat applied
- Filtered and bottled — nothing added, nothing removed
- Yield: approximately 30–40% of seed weight
2. Refined Oil Method
- Seeds are crushed and then treated with hexane (a petroleum solvent) to extract maximum oil
- The oil-hexane mixture is heated to 150°C+ to evaporate the solvent
- The oil is then bleached with activated clay to remove colour
- Deodorised at 200°C+ under steam pressure to remove natural odours
- Synthetic antioxidants (TBHQ, BHA) added to prevent rancidity
- Yield: approximately 90% of seed weight — hence the lower cost
Nutritional Comparison
| Factor | Cold-Pressed Oil | Refined Oil |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin E (Tocopherols) | High — fully preserved | 60–80% destroyed in processing |
| Omega-3 Fatty Acids | Intact | Partially oxidised during heating |
| Polyphenols / Antioxidants | Fully present | Mostly removed |
| Phospholipids | Present — aid digestion | Removed in degumming step |
| Natural Colour & Aroma | Retained | Bleached and deodorised away |
| Chemical Residues | None | Possible trace hexane (max 5 ppm by FSSAI) |
| Added Preservatives | None | TBHQ, BHA commonly added |
| Smoke Point* | Varies by oil (160–220°C) | Higher due to refinement |
Note: While refined oils have a higher smoke point, the premise that higher smoke point = healthier cooking is misleading. Refined oils at high heat produce more harmful secondary oxidation compounds (aldehydes) because their natural antioxidants have been removed.
The Hexane Question — What You Are Not Being Told
Hexane is a by-product of petroleum refining. It is highly effective at extracting oil from seeds — which is why the industry uses it.
FSSAI regulations permit up to 5 ppm (parts per million) of hexane residue in refined edible oils. While this is considered safe at low levels, the cumulative effect of daily exposure over years has not been comprehensively studied in Indian dietary contexts.
Cold-pressed oils, extracted mechanically, contain zero hexane by definition.
Taste, Aroma & Cooking Performance
Cold-pressed oils carry the natural flavour signature of their source ingredient.
- Cold-pressed groundnut oil tastes of fresh peanuts
- Cold-pressed mustard oil has its characteristic sharp warmth
- Cold-pressed coconut oil smells exactly like a fresh coconut
These are not impurities — they are the oils in their natural state.
Refined oils taste neutral because everything that carried flavour has been chemically removed. Many Indian cooks find this flatness acceptable for daily cooking, but it represents a genuine loss of culinary tradition.
Traditional Indian recipes — dal tadka, sarson da saag, coconut-based curries — were developed around the specific flavour profiles of cold-pressed oils.
Cost vs Value: Understanding the Price Difference
Cold-pressed oils cost 2–3x more than refined oils of the same volume. This is not a premium mark-up — it reflects the genuine economics of traditional extraction: lower yield per kg of seeds, slower processing, no chemical augmentation.
Consider:
- A 1-litre bottle of cold-pressed groundnut oil uses approximately 3 kg of groundnuts.
- A 1-litre bottle of refined groundnut oil can be produced from the same quantity of seeds plus solvent extraction of residual oil.
- The cold-pressed bottle represents more raw material per litre.
The higher price reflects the extraction method, nutrient retention, and quantity of raw ingredients used to produce each litre of oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not completely — at regulatory levels, refined oils are legally safe. The concern is
nutritional quality, not immediate toxicity. Refined oils simply provide far less health benefit
than cold-pressed alternatives, and daily use over years adds up.
Yes, for most cold-pressed oils. Groundnut and sesame cold-pressed oils have smoke
points of 160–177°C — sufficient for most Indian frying. Avoid cold-pressed flaxseed oil at
high heat. For deep frying, groundnut oil is the best cold-pressed choice.
Often yes, especially in the context of olive oil. ‘Virgin’ and ‘extra virgin’ olive oil are cold-
pressed. However, for Indian oils (groundnut, sesame, coconut), ‘cold-pressed’ or ‘kachi
ghani’ is the correct term to look for.
Look for: a cloudy or naturally coloured appearance, a strong natural aroma matching the
source (e.g., peanut-smelling groundnut oil), glass bottle packaging (to avoid plastic
leaching), and a lab test certificate confirming no chemical treatment.
It can, because it has no synthetic antioxidant preservatives. Proper storage (cool, dark,
glass bottle, sealed) extends shelf life to 12–18 months unopened. Once open, use within
3–6 months.
Sanjeevani’s entire range is genuinely cold-pressed — no solvents, no bleaching, no
deodorising. Shop at sanjeevanicoldpressedoils.com or at theamsha.com/shop .
