Sesame Oil

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JMediger

Head Chef
Joined
Sep 7, 2005
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Location
Wisconsin
I gave our spice / baking cabinet a much needed clean-out today ... lots of interesting (and dated!) items I had forgotten we had bought to try.

Anyway ... I was looking on our bottle of sesame oil for an expiration date and found none. It also made me wonder if it should be refrigerated. Any thoughts? What do YOU do with your flavored oils?
 
Thank you! I did smell it and it just smells like toasted sesame seeds. Does it get thick in the refrigerator?
 
JMediger....Typical of the internet..I saw shelf life all over the board for Sesame oil from "experts"....Mostly in the 6 month to 1 year range. I saw none that said refrigerate after opening..one said it wouldn't hurt anything. It seems the biggest enemies to sesame oil is heat and light...You know the "store in a cool, dry, dark place" routine....It seems the better brands come in amber/dark bottles...Anyway the old sniff test seems to be the best indicator of how fresh your/our oil is. If it doesn't smell or taste right....don't ruin the dish!
 
Well, since there is no such thing as a "cool, dry" place here, I refrigerate. It took me almost two years to find a bottle of sesame oil here. Too precious to waste.
 
This is off topic but when I landed in Japan for my two year tour of duty I smelled something I was not use to and ask some one what I was smelling he told me it was sesame oil. Where I was stationed that was the prevailing smell day after day
 
like most oils and fats I would assume that sesame seed oil would go rancid after a long time.....I usually use mine up before it gets to that point but I also buy the small bottles, too.........of course I could be wrong about rancidity.......
 
Mine actually does thicken a bit in the fridge, but i take it out about 10 or 15 minutes before i use it and it thins in no time. Intense flavor, and a little goes a long way so add, taste , then add again instead of just dumping a whole lot in at once. Usually, I add a a few drops ,or whatever , at the end of cooking to add the flavor.
 
Thank you all!

Uncle Bob, I was thinking it [shelf life] had to be in the one year range. We only use it when we make fried rice and that kick ended last spring so I have about 1/2 a bottle left.

Expatgirl, I was concerned with it going rancid so I think you are right on the mark. We use other nut oils, especially hazelnut oil, and I am very careful about their smell.

Thank you all again!
 
JMediger said:
Uncle Bob, I was thinking it [shelf life] had to be in the one year range. We only use it when we make fried rice and that kick ended last spring so I have about 1/2 a bottle left.

Try just a few drops mixed in a good Soy sauce... lightly brush on grilled meats...especially beef....Not bad..Not bad at all!

Enjoy!
 
I do a LOT of Asian cooking, & for over 30 years have ALWAYS had bottles of both "regular" & "hot" Sesame Oil in my pantry. While I've always & will continue to give the bottle(s) a "sniff" before use (as I do with all oils), I've not yet had Sesame Oil ever go rancid in the pantry - even after longer than a year. And believe me, there's no mistaking an oil that's "turned", even if you've never smelled it before.

My fridge is already (& always) stuffed to the rafters. Any product that can maintain its quality in the pantry definitely has its home there, & is worth its weight in gold to me. :)
 
MexicoKaren - Two years to find Sesame Oil? Have you looked online? There are very few Asian food product sites that don't sell it.
 
That's what I was thinking. The Asian grocery store I go to has small bottles of sesame oil for about $2US. We're talking maybe 6 fl oz. Postage can't be that expensive.
 
Oh guys - thanks for your offers, but you cannot imagine the difficulty in getting something sent to Mexico. In many ways, Mexico is surprisingly advanced, but mail delivery is not one of them. For our little town (app. 7,000 pop), there are TWO mail carriers. No guarantee that you will ever receive what is sent to your street address. So, we have our US mail sent to a mail forwarding service in Laredo, TX and then it is sent UPS to a Mailboxes, Etc. site in Puerto Vallarta. Anything we have sent to us is charged 100% duty, including gifts that other people send us. So we don't order anything unless we are DESPERATE for it.....
 
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