Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil (Surajmukhi Tel) - Wood Ghani

Sunflower oil crushed cold in a wooden ghani, light in the pan and light on the tongue, which is why surajmukhi tel ends up as the everyday oil in so many Pune homes. Seed comes from our own farmer members, gets cleaned, and goes straight to the press.

Light, but not empty

A cold press pulls about a third less oil out of a kilo of seed than a solvent plant does. We live with that. In return the oil still smells faintly of sunflower seed, pours pale gold instead of water clear, and leaves a little natural sediment at the bottom.

Where it works best

Sunflower is the quiet one. Reach for it when the oil should not argue with the dish: koshimbir dressings, batata bhaji, cutlets, chakli and shankarpali at Diwali, a plain besan pithla. A heavier oil suits a strong tadka on usal or misal better.

Sizes and keeping it well

Bottled in 1 litre, 2 litre, 3 litre and 4 litre. Light and heat age this oil faster than time does, so park the can in a cupboard rather than beside the stove, and decant a small bottle for daily use.

Our full cold pressed oil shelf is worth a look. Most households run this alongside wood pressed groundnut oil for heavier cooking, and add fresh besan to the same order for pithla and bhajji.

Frequently asked questions

Is cold pressed sunflower oil good for deep frying

It handles ordinary home frying on a steady medium flame. It is not a high smoke point refined oil, so do not push the flame hard and do not reuse the same oil many times over.

Why does it cost more than the refined kind

Yield, mostly. A wooden ghani works slowly and squeezes far less oil from the same seed, so the cost per litre climbs. Heat and solvent get much more out of the seed, cheaply.

What is the cloudy layer at the bottom of the bottle

Fine seed matter, left in because we only filter through cloth. Give it a gentle shake before use.