Sesame oil: Toasted and otherwise; smoke point
Need to know: Are toasted, dark, and Asian sesame oils the same thing--that is, oil made from toasted sesame seeds? Reputable cookbook authors seem to refer to any of the three as superior to light, or untoasted, or, of course, sesame oil mixed with something else, but don't say they are one and the same. Also: Sharon Tyler Herbst writes that sesame oil has a smoke point of 420F, making it good for frying. Everybody else I've checked says exactly the opposite--that it has a low burn point and hence should be used as a seasoning. Anybody know definitively? Maybe in Barbara Tropp or Nina SImonds, which I don't have handy? Grace Young doesn't address...Thanks.
Miriam
May 23, 2002 01:27PM
I can't help on the differences, although I usually use "dark" and "toasted" interchangeably.
On the smoke point issue, Epicurious also says that the smoke point is 420°F. And in a story on olive oil at http://www.lawrence.com/articles/cookingqa/story/83157, it gives the following smoke points:
"The smoke point of oil is the cooking temperature at which the oil gives off irritating smoke and breaks down chemically. The smoke points of common fats and oils are:
butter 350 degrees
lard 361-401 degrees
vegetable shortenings 356-370 degrees
olive oil 375 degrees
vegetable oils (includes corn, safflower, soybean, peanut, avocado and grapeseed) 441-450 degrees"
However, having said that, another site I found (at the link below) gives slightly different smoke points, depending on the refinement of the sesame oils.
Finally, at Cook's Thesaurus, (http://www.foodsubs.com/Oils.html) it says that sesame oil has a *low* smoke point, and isn't good for frying.
I know - not much help! But I personally prefer using sesame oils as an accent in cooking.
Link: http://www.care2.com/channels/solutio...
Permalink | Reply
I don't know about smoking point, but no resturant or Chinese home cooks I know would ever use sesame oil for frying. The flavor and frangrance is so strong to use it in a big bucket to fry something would overpower anything you are trying to cook. Most of the time, it's use as a accent for stir frying or marinads. Not to mention, it's not economical to use sesame to fry.
Permalink | Reply
>>Need to know: Are toasted, dark, and Asian sesame oils the same thing
My understanding is that Asian sesame oil is the yellowish less flavored oil and could be used say, in small amounts for stirfrying - while the dark/toasted sesame oil has a strong and very distinctive flavor, which as Wendy pointed out would most definitely overpower anything you wanted to fry in large amounts of oil. If you've ever had sesame noodles, the distinctive smoky nutty flavor is imparted by the dark sesame oil - a tiny bit goes a long long way flavor-wise.
Permalink | Reply
AS far as I know this is the deal.
Dark sesame oil is toasted sesame oil. It is sometimes incorrectly called Asian sesame oil. The seeds are roasted / toasted before expressing the oil. It is used as a flavoring agent not as an oil due to it's concentrated smoky taste. If you fry with it the oil gets burnt tasting very fast so you should add near the end of the cooking time if the food is cooked at high temperatures.
Light sesame oil is untoasted sesame oil. It is broken down into two types. Cold expressed oil which is similar to extra virgin olive oil. Good for salad dressing and in small amounts for a stir fry or to grease the bottom of a pan. I think this has a lower smoke point just as extra virgin olive oil does when compared to regular processed olive oil due to the greater amount of impurities that give it the flavor. Cold expressed sesame oil has a small amount of sesame taste like untoasted sesame seeds. A totally different flavor from toasted sesame oil.
The other light sesame oil is usually not labeled as to how it is expressed and is processed with heat. This is very light and flavorless and has a higher smoke point and can be used for frying as in stir frys, to grease a pan, and for deep frying if one wants.
Permalink | Reply
My understanding is that not all sesame oils are created equally. Everything below is correct, but there is a third variety, which is rendered by centrifical force, and is therefore never heated or pressed, and so has a longer shelf life and better flavor. These will not be found in Asian Groceries -- but only in high end specialty shops. Look for China Blue and ilk.
Permalink | Reply