How to Use Wood Pressed Oil in Everyday Cooking

Picture yourself young again. Step inside grandma’s house during midday. Cooking filled the air before you saw a single pot. From the front room, scents already told the story. Meals announced themselves without words.

Out of the kitchen came that biting smell, when mustard oil burned during fish or bhindi. Roasted dosa brought something softer - sesame oil drifting through rooms. The air changed depending on what sizzled in the pan.

Fast forward to today. You walk into a modern kitchen, heat up a pan of refined sunflower oil, and... nothing. No smell. No color. No character.

For the last 30 years, TV ads have told us that odorless, colorless oil is the secret to a healthy heart. They told us to throw away our traditional oils and buy plastic pouches of "light" refined oil. We listened. And what happened? Heart disease went up. Cholesterol issues exploded. Joint pain became normal for people in their 30s.

We traded real food for factory chemicals.

Now, everyone wants to go back. You are probably reading this because you bought a bottle of wood pressed oil, or you are thinking about buying one. But there is a problem. We forgot how to cook with it.

If you are used to cooking with tasteless water-like refined oil, switching back to thick, aromatic wood pressed oil can be confusing. Does it burn? Can you fry a puri in it? Why does it smell so strong?

At FreshInTheBox, we extract oil exactly the way it was done 100 years ago. No heat, no chemicals, just a wooden Ghani. Let’s sit down and figure out exactly how to bring this liquid gold back into your daily cooking routine.

Is wood-pressed oil better than refined oil? Let's look at the chemistry.

Before we talk about cooking, you need to understand what you are actually putting in your pan.

When you buy refined oil, you are buying a heavily processed industrial liquid. To get oil out of a soybean or a sunflower seed quickly, massive factories use a chemical solvent called Hexane. It is literally a petroleum byproduct.

Once soaked in hexane to extract all remaining oil, the liquid comes out smelly and cloudy. Boiling happens next, above 200°C, changing its harsh odor. Bleaching follows that heat step, stripping away the dark tint. Finally, deodorizing wipes out whatever stink lingers. Before it ever reaches the plastic wrapper, each vitamin, antioxidant, and natural enzyme has already stopped working. This fat only looks alive.

Wood pressed oil is completely different. We take premium, sun-dried seeds. We put them in a wooden mortar and pestle (a Lakdi Ghani or Chekku). A heavy wooden block slowly crushes the seeds. The friction squeezes the oil out naturally.

That’s it. We filter it through a cotton cloth and pour it into a bottle.

Is it better? Yes. It contains natural Vitamin E. It contains phytosterols that actually help lower bad cholesterol. It has real monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) that your heart needs to function. It is a living food.

Wood-pressed oil vs cold-pressed oil: which is better?

Most folks fall for it without even knowing. Spot those shiny labels screaming “Cold Pressed” on every shelf. Yet cold pressed doesn’t automatically mean wood pressed - different methods entirely. Truth hides behind similar words.

The truth comes out. Heavy steel equipment - often called metal expellers - is how most businesses squeeze seed oil. True, there's no outside flame used, which lets them label it “cold pressed” by law. Yet heat builds up anyway when metal grinds against seeds. That internal rubbing in the machine often sends temps soaring past 60°C, sometimes even hitting 70°C. When things get that hot, fragile nutrients in the oil begin to fall apart.

A traditional wooden Ghani changes the game. Wood absorbs heat. Wood does not conduct heat.

Oil made by pressing groundnuts or sesame with a wooden tool won’t heat past thirty-five to forty degrees Celsius. Room temperature holds steady throughout. Only this method keeps every part of the oil’s makeup intact.

Here’s the truth - wood-pressed oil beats ordinary cold-pressed oil from metal presses when actual healing properties matter. Machines made of steel can’t match what wooden tools bring out in oils meant for wellness

Why try wood pressed oils for daily consumption?

It takes about 3 weeks for your body to notice the difference when you switch.

Heavy meals made with processed oils often leave you feeling swollen, uncomfortable. Your body wasn’t built to handle those artificial substances - liver struggles, gallbladder slows down. Try wooden-pressed oils instead, one change - and suddenly food moves through you differently. Digestion shifts right away, becomes smoother, lighter. Meals sit better, even when rich.

From trees, oil holds quiet helpers inside - these guide your gut through soft unraveling of heavy bits. A slow dance begins where digestion wakes without force.

Surprisingly, the amount of oil you reach for starts shrinking. Many find that odd at first. Thick stuff, this wood pressed kind - packed tight by nature. When heat hits the pan, it moves slow and smooth across the surface. Instead of three spoonfuls like the recipe says, two often do the job just fine. Coats each piece of vegetable like a thin blanket. Never breaks apart into oily pools underneath.

The Master Guide: Use Wood Pressed Oil in Everyday Cooking

You cannot just buy one wood pressed oil and use it for absolutely everything. That is a modern, lazy habit we learned from refined oil.

Traditional Indian cooking is all about matching the right oil to the right region and the right dish. Here is how you use the FreshInTheBox Wood Pressed Oils in your kitchen.

1. Wood Pressed Groundnut Oil (The All-Rounder)

Scared of making a change? This is where to begin. A hint of sweetness, almost gentle - groundnut oil brings a soft nuttaste. Food keeps its voice; the oil stays quiet.

• Best For: Perfect when you're tempering spices in lentils, cooking chopped greens or green beans, even preparing breakfast dishes such as fluffy upma or flattened rice poha.
• How to use it: Start by warming it slowly. Right away, the scent of toasted peanuts fills the air. Into the pan go the mustard seeds, along with curry leaves. What happens next lifts even basic yellow lentils into something memorable.

2. Wood Pressed Mustard Oil (The Pungent Healer)

Out front in northern and eastern Indian cooking? This one rules. Packed full of allyl isothiocyanate - that’s what brings the heat. Sharp bite, yes, but also fights bacteria hard. Digestion gets a solid boost too.

• Best For: Fish curries, heavy meat dishes, dry Bhindi (okra), stuffed parathas, and making pickles (Achaar).
• How to use it: This is the only wood pressed oil you must heat to its smoking point before cooking. Pour it in the pan and wait until a thin line of white smoke appears and the color turns pale. This breaks down the extreme pungency. Then, turn the heat low and add your spices.

3. Wood Pressed Sesame Oil (The South Indian Gold)

Called Gingelly or Til oil too. Warming right through, this one stands out when it comes to bones. Sesame oil, according to Ayurveda, brings balance like no other on the body's side. Deep nourishment shows up clearly here.

• Best For: Perfect with dosas, blending into idli podi, spicing up puliyogare, while adding depth to garlic or tomato chutneys.
• How to use it: Start by skipping the deep frying - this isn’t meant for that kind of heat. Try it instead at a steady, moderate temperature or even straight up without cooking. Drizzle a full spoonful across a sizzling dosa resting on the griddle. Watch how the edges deepen into gold while the scent drifts toward something familiar - like mornings in an old kitchen near a southern shrine.

4. Wood Pressed Coconut Oil (The Immunity Booster)

Coconut oil gives your body a boost because it holds lauric acid - yes, the one also in breast milk. This stuff backs both immunity and how well your mind works. Not magic, just chemistry doing its job quietly behind the scenes.

• Best For: Perfect when making coconut-based stews from Kerala. Great for mixing into Avial before serving. Works well after frying spices for chutney. Suitable also in sweet recipes using oven heat.
• How to use it: Start slow - this oil burns fast if the heat climbs too high. Toss in mustard seeds, then let them crackle before adding urad dal along with dried red chilies. Hunger hits right when that scent fills the air.

Is wood-pressed good for deep frying?

Most folks ask us this one thing again and again. Somehow, we’ve all been led to think frying needs refined sunflower oil - just because it can handle high heat without burning. A Puri, a Samosa, even Pakoras - they’re supposed to need that kind of oil, people say. It’s almost like a rule everyone follows without checking why

Science does not back this claim at all.

Though refined oils can handle high heat, their resistance to oxidation is poor. Heating them causes quick molecular decay, producing harmful substances known as aldehydes. Such chemicals trigger inflammation and pose serious risks to cardiac health.

So, is wood-pressed good for deep frying? Yes, absolutely. You just have to use the right one.

Wood pressed Groundnut oil and Mustard oil have smoke points around 160°C to 180°C. When you deep fry puris, the ideal oil temperature is around 170°C. The oil is perfectly stable.

What really matters is that cold-pressed oils contain plenty of natural antioxidants - take Vitamin E, for instance. Guarding against damage, these compounds keep the oil stable under intense heat. Without them, the oil could turn harmful much faster.

Pro-Tip for Frying: When you drop a puri into wood pressed groundnut oil, you will notice the oil might foam a little bit at the top. Don't panic. This is completely normal. Refined oils don't foam because anti-foaming chemicals are added to them in the factory. The slight foam in wood pressed oil is the proof that it is raw, chemical-free, and natural.

The Secret Medicine: Wood pressed oils for elder people

Older years bring shifts inside the frame. Joints lose ease, movement by movement. Digestion takes longer now, day after day. Cholesterol acts up without warning, out of nowhere.

Start thinking about your older family members when cooking. Because swapping out processed oils makes a real difference for their health. Try using cold-pressed versions instead - these often work quietly like support through each meal. When elders eat meals made this way, it shows care without needing words.

Here is why:

1. Gallbladder Function: Older adults produce less bile. Bile is what breaks down fat. Refined, long-chain industrial fats are exhausting for an aging liver to process. The natural, intact fatty acid chains in wood pressed oils are recognized by the body and digested much faster, preventing severe gas and bloating.
2. Joint Lubrication: In Ayurveda, joint pain is often caused by an excess of Vata (dryness and air) in the body. Consuming Wood-pressed Sesame oil or Groundnut oil provides internal lubrication. It greases the creaky hinges of the knees and shoulders from the inside out.
3. Heart Protection: Elder people need HDL (the good cholesterol) to sweep bad cholesterol out of their arteries. The raw MUFA (Monounsaturated fats) in wood pressed groundnut oil actively helps raise HDL levels.

If your parents complain of severe constipation, give them one teaspoon of wood pressed sesame oil or coconut oil in warm water before bed. It works better than chemical laxatives.

How to Transition Your Kitchen (Without Ruining Dinner)

You don't have to throw everything out today and panic. Transitioning takes a little time.

1. Start with the Tadka: Keep your refined oil for a few weeks if you want, but buy a bottle of FreshInTheBox Wood Pressed Groundnut Oil. Use it only for your final tadka on dal or vegetables. Notice how the smell changes the whole dish.
2. Adjust your measurements: Remember, this oil is thick. If you usually pour a big splash of oil into the pan, stop. Measure it with a spoon. Use 20% less than you normally would.
3. Expect a heavier texture: Your curries will feel a bit richer. The gravy will have more body. This is a good thing. It means you are actually eating food, not industrial water.

Once your family gets used to the rich, earthy taste of real food, they will never let you cook with tasteless refined oil again.

Also Read: 7 Benefits of Wood Pressed Oil

The Final Verdict

Cooking is supposed to be an act of nourishment. When you pour a chemical solvent into your pan, you are fighting your own body.

Going back to wood pressed oils is not a trendy diet fad. It is a return to common sense. It is cooking exactly how our ancestors cooked before the factories convinced us that they knew better.

Yes, it costs a little more. Yes, it smells like actual peanuts, or mustard, or sesame. And that is exactly the point. Food should smell like food.

Stop feeding your family dead, refined liquids. Bring the Lakdi Ghani back into your kitchen.

Ready to make the switch? Explore our pure, chemical-free range of FreshInTheBox Wood Pressed Edible Oils right here.