600911 Tue Mar 03 17:15:26 -0800 2009 9 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4470926 The sesame oil I purchase from my local Middle Easter market is very light in color compared to the sesame oil I purchase from my Asian market. Even though at the Asian market I specifically purchase bottles that do not say "toasted", is it possible that all of the Asian sesame oils are toasted sesame oil? Tue Mar 03 17:15:26 -0800 2009 107374 bmorecupcake 1 4470940 yes almost all sesame oil found in asian markets are toasted which you can tell from the color Tue Mar 03 17:21:44 -0800 2009 4470926 153975 bw2082 1 4471533 I've never seen anything but toasted, even the ones that are toasted are toasted. i think they don't go rancid as fast if you toast them--at lease it's harder to detect the rancidity. Tue Mar 03 21:28:17 -0800 2009 4470926 25251 hankstramm 1 4471567 Light sesame oil is a cooking oil, while toasted sesame oil is more of a condiment/flavoring/last-minute addition to a dish. One cannot substitute for the other. Cay Tue Mar 03 21:57:21 -0800 2009 4470926 49525 cayjohan 2 4471574 I disagree. I can't speak for middle eastern cooking, but in Asian recipes toasted sesame oil is often used as a cooking medium in addition to being used to flavor various foods after they have been prepared for serving. Tue Mar 03 22:01:21 -0800 2009 4471567 203621 todao 3 4471800 I'd be curious to see a recipe using toasted/roasted sesame seed oil as a cooking medium but meanwhile, cayojohn is correct that un-roasted sesame oil is meant to be a cooking oil, not a flavoring ingredient. It tastes faintly of sesame, but certainly wouldn't sub for toasted. Wed Mar 04 03:24:29 -0800 2009 4471574 11980 MikeG 4 4473534 It's all in the smoke point. Light sesame oil has a relatively high smoke point, hence, good for cooking applications. Roasted/toasted sesame oil has already been taken to high heat for flavor, but then it's "used oil". Ask yourself this: do you ever see a two gallon jug of toasted sesame oil? Light sesame oil, yes. I'm really curious too if the toasted has a cooking medium application. Maybe a slow oil poach? Cay Wed Mar 04 13:11:05 -0800 2009 4471800 49525 cayjohan 5 4474249 FWIW, I have seen gallon jugs of toasted sesame oil but I'm sure they were just for restaurants or *really* big families. ;) Apart from the smoke point issue, I can't imagine "cooking with" anything that strongly flavored even though it's not unheard of (eg, South Asian mustard oil) it, it's so strongly flavored. Not that it necessarily means much, but I've never seen an Asian recipe calling for it as a frying medium... might get fried a bit if used as a marinade ingredient, but that's not quite the same thing. That's in traditional uses - you never know what could turn up in a "fusion" type setting... Wed Mar 04 16:51:02 -0800 2009 4473534 11980 MikeG 1 4471611 Middle Eastern sesame oils are always, in my experience, way less flavorful than Asian and French varieties. I don't know if that means they're raw, but the French ones I've tried specifically say they're toasted -- though the Asian ones are less predictable. Gotta say, I'm sure they're toasted, based on the color and aroma. I don't think I've ever gotten a Middle Eastern one that had that heady, roasty scent like the ones I use to flavor dishes at the end. Best toasted one I've ever tried was J. LeBlanc. But it was a gift from a friend, and would be nowhere near worth the U.S. price vs. what the Asian ones cost. Tue Mar 03 22:33:10 -0800 2009 4470926 130151 dmd_kc 1 4471813 toasted is a topping/drizzling oil. raw seems like it could be a cooking oil Wed Mar 04 03:47:53 -0800 2009 4470926 74905 jaykayen