Why Does Cold Pressed Oil Have Sediment? (And Why That Is Good)

Turn a bottle of chekku oil upside down and you will see a fine cloud rise from the bottom. This is sediment – tiny particles of the seed itself that passed through the cloth filter.

What it is

Sediment is mostly protein and fibre fragments from the groundnut or sesame, along with natural waxes and lecithin. In gingelly oil it is darker; in groundnut oil it is a pale beige. It is completely edible.

Why refined oil has none

Refining includes degumming, centrifuging and filtering through bleaching earth specifically to remove all of this, along with colour and aroma. The result is a clear, neutral, shelf stable product – and a less nutritious one.

What to do with it

• Let the bottle stand and pour from the top for a clear oil.
• Or shake gently before use – the sediment does no harm in cooking.
• The last spoon of a bottle, rich in sediment, is excellent for tempering or for mixing with idli podi.
• When frying, sediment may brown a little faster. Use the clearer top portion of the oil for deep frying.

Cloudiness in winter

Groundnut and gingelly oil may look hazy on a cool morning as natural waxes thicken. Coconut oil solidifies completely below 24°C. Both return to normal as the day warms. This is a good sign: it means the oil has not been winterised or treated.

At Vaigai Oil Mills we allow the oil to settle for a day and filter it through cloth before bottling. We do not add flow agents or run it through chemical filters. What settles in your bottle is the seed – nothing else.