Refined oil
Seeds are hexane-extracted, bleached, deodorised and heated hard. Long shelf, little character, a factory product.
The mill
Marachekku Ennai
Wood, press, oil — from a mill in south India. That is the entire argument against refined oil.
Three words people mix up
Refined, cold pressed, wood pressed
Cold pressed oil
Mechanical press, low heat, no solvent. Nutrients stay. Many cold pressed oils still come from a steel expeller.
Marachekku Oil
Wood pressed in a chekku in south India. The slowest of the three — and the one Tamil kitchens mean by Marachekku ennai.
01
The seed, whole
Groundnut, black sesame, white sesame, coconut, mustard — the mill starts with the seed, not with a solvent tank. Moisture and grit are the enemies of a clean press, so the lot is dried and picked before it meets wood.
02
Vaagai wood
Marachekku means wooden press. Vaagai is the timber of the Tamil mill: dense enough to crush, gentle enough not to scorch. Steel expellers run hot and fast. A chekku does not.
03
The slow crush
The mill turns. Seeds yield. Oil runs into the trough as a cold stream. This is wood pressed oil — and it is cold pressed oil — because the temperature never climbs into the refining range.
04
South to the bottle
The oil rests, is filtered without bleach or deodorising, and bottled at the mill in south India. Retailers such as DM Traders then put it on the shelf for Tamil kitchens.
Taste the mill
Groundnut Oil, Gingelly Oil, Coconut Oil — order from DM Tradersor another trusted stockist.
Shop wood pressed oil