let’s learn how to make sesame oil! I just had the chance to visit Olim Oil in New Jersey, and see the behind the scenes process of making fresh pressed sesame and perilla seed oil. it all starts with the seeds and here they are sourcing from a farm in Korea and visually the seeds are a touch smaller than from many other countries where sesame seeds are produced. the seeds are thoroughly washed 3-4 times in 5 minute cycles before a longer final cycle to ensure there is absolutely no debris leftover in the seeds. the “good seeds” also stay at the bottom of the water while lighter ones float and are skimmed away. after a bit of drying they are taken to the roaster, and it was really interesting learning about the benefits of roasting at low temperatures. one of the natural compounds sesamolin actually convert into sesamol when roasting, and keeping the perfect temperature allows them to maximize all of the best characteristics of their seeds. this is extremely important for the perilla seeds as well because they have more delicate compounds that are more susceptible to denaturing due to high heats. then they are passed through a conveyer, and i thought it was so interesting learning about how they needed to settle the volatile gases surrounding the seeds after roasting to ensure a more consistent final product. then they are finally moved to the presses and you can already smell the intense fragrance and tasting the oil you can really get a sense of how the quality of ingredients and technique used to make it makes a huge difference. here they also don’t strain it as extensively as commercial oils, because there are leftover nutrients in the oil after pressing that filtering removes. i really hope you all enjoyed learning about fresh pressed oils as much as I did. I think there really is so much to learn from people who take the time to ensure every step of the process is executed with intention and properly. you should definitely check out Olim Oil, they ship anywhere in the US and I would highly recommend you taste the difference, to me it is 100% worth it (olimusa.com). @olim_oil #chef #cooking #learn #sesame #culinary - @stevenmotocooks