How Wood Pressed Oil Is Made
Pressed the slow way, the way it used to be
Before steel expellers and solvent plants, every Indian household bought its oil from a local ghani — a wooden mortar and pestle turned slowly to crush seed into oil. It was unhurried, unrefined and completely unremarkable at the time. It is only now, after decades of industrial refining, that it feels like a luxury.
Dadobaa presses oil that way on purpose. We work in small batches out of Govandi, Mumbai, and we sell what we press — no blending, no reselling, nothing arriving in an unmarked tanker.
From seed to bottle
1. Sourcing the seed
Groundnut, sesame, mustard, coconut, sunflower and safflower are bought as whole seed and checked by hand before anything is pressed.
2. Slow wooden pressing
The seed goes into a wooden ghani that turns slowly enough to keep friction heat low. Slower pressing means less heat, and less heat means the aroma and nutrients survive.
3. Settling, not refining
The oil is left to settle and is filtered through cloth. There is no bleaching, no deodorising and no chemical refining, which is why the colour and smell stay strong.
4. Bottled fresh
We bottle in small batches rather than pressing months of stock in advance, so what reaches you is close to when it was pressed.
What "unrefined" actually means
Refined cooking oil is put through bleaching, deodorising and often solvent extraction. That produces a clear, neutral, long-lasting oil — and strips out most of what gave the seed its character.
Unrefined oil behaves differently, and it is worth knowing before you switch:
It smells and tastes strongly of the seed it came from.
Sediment at the bottom of the bottle is normal, not a fault.
Coconut oil will solidify below roughly 24°C. That is expected.
With no preservatives, it keeps best in a cool dark place, used within a few months of opening.
Common questions
What is wood pressed oil?
Wood pressed oil — also called lakdi ghani or marachekku oil — is extracted by slowly crushing seeds in a wooden mortar and pestle. The low speed keeps the temperature down, so the oil keeps its natural aroma, colour and nutrients instead of having them stripped out by heat and chemicals.
What is the difference between wood pressed and cold pressed?
Cold pressed is a broad term for any oil pressed without added heat, usually with a steel expeller. Wood pressed is a specific, slower kind of cold pressing that uses a wooden ghani. Wood generates less friction heat than steel, so the oil comes out cooler.
Why does it cost more than refined oil?
A wooden ghani yields far less oil from the same quantity of seed than an industrial plant, and it runs much more slowly. You are paying for lower yield, slower production and unrefined quality.
How should I store it?
Keep it in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight, and close the cap tightly. Because there are no preservatives, use it within a few months of opening.