Sesame oil belongs in your pantry. Here’s how to use it.

Sesame seeds are about 50 percent oil by weight, and the oil extracted from them is one of the oldest foods made by humans. Sesame oil is most often prized for the wonderfully nutty flavor and aroma it adds to dishes, particularly in many Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines, where it’s a staple ingredient and integral to those regions’ flavor profiles. (It is also known as gingelly oil in South Indian cooking.)

“It’s just so necessary for everything,” said chef and cookbook author Jon Kung.

Sesame oil comes in a range of hues, potencies and uses. Here’s what you need to know about the different varieties to make the most of them.

Refined vs. unrefined sesame oil

The refined version of sesame oil creates a very light colored, neutral tasting oil that is good for all-purpose cooking. It has a smoke point of somewhere between 410 and 445 degrees and can be used similarly to other neutral oils, such as canola or vegetable oil. Since there’s not much difference between refined sesame oil and other neutral oils, there’s no reason to add it to your pantry if it’s not already there.

Unrefined sesame oil is a different story. “It just adds an aromatic punch to things,” Kung said. It can be found untoasted and toasted, with the latter being more common. “Even at, like, really well-stocked grocery stores, I see variations of toasted sesame oil, but I don’t see the other stuff very much,” Kung said.

Toasted vs. untoasted sesame oil

Whether toasted or untoasted, unrefined sesame oils add a delicious nuttiness to whatever they touch, but the toasted variety – made from seeds that are toasted or roasted before being processed for oil – packs a much more potent punch.

In her recipe for Sheet Pan Kimchi Noodles, cookbook author and our Plant Powered II newsletter writer Hetty Lui McKinnon specifies untoasted sesame oil for drizzling over the finished dish. “Normally I’d use toasted sesame oil for topping dishes but because toasted sesame oil and kimchi are both very flavorful, I didn’t want to overpower the kimchi with the sesame flavor,” McKinnon said. Untoasted “adds a gentle essence without a huge punch. In this case, it feels more balanced.”

But if you’re just looking to add one new bottle to your pantry, toasted is the way to go. “I love its big flavor, so most of the time I will use toasted,” McKinnon said. And if you ever come across a recipe that specifies untoasted when toasted is all you have, you can simply use less to achieve the intended flavor profile.

Toasted sesame oil is typically used as a finishing oil and in dressings and sauces – one of my most common uses is in a dip for dumplings alongside soy sauce and vinegar. Kung’s favorite thing to add it to is rice for a boost of flavor and because it “separates the rice a little bit for a nicer mouthfeel,” he said. The oil is also often mixed with ground meat for dumplings or wontons. Beyond these uses, you can drizzle it over soups, vegetables, roasted or grilled meats, or just about anything else you can think of to instantly add depth and complexity.

The untoasted oil can also be used to cook with over low or medium heat. “I will most often add some untoasted sesame oil to neutral oil for stir frying, to give the dish more foundational flavor,” McKinnon said. “Heat will bring out more flavors in the sesame oil and will inject your dish with a nutty perfume.”

Shelf life and storage

Toasted sesame oil is known for its resistance to oxidation and rancidity, but it does not last forever. “Eventually, the oil will become rancid: it will turn darker in color, develop a harsh aroma like paint thinner or nail polish remover, and start to taste unpleasant,” food writer Max Falkowitz wrote for online retailer Snuk Foods. He recommends using the oil within six months when stored in a cool dark place, or you can preserve the quality even longer by storing it in the refrigerator. But I’m pretty sure the bottle in my pantry has been there much longer, so just give yours a whiff to make sure it’s still good before using.

With toasted sesame oil, a little bit goes a long way. So buy it in smaller quantities unless you know that you’ll go through it quickly.