OILS 275 



Sesame oil, also called gingelly oil and by other names, is 

 obtained from the seed of Sesamum indicum. The crop is 

 cultivated chiefly in India, Java, Siam, China, Japan, and the 

 Levant. Sesame is an annual plant attaining a height of 2 or 



3 feet. The seed are sown broadcast and the crop matures in 



4 months from the time of seeding. The yield is commonly 

 about 20 bushels of seed per acre, from which 60 gallons of 

 oil are obtained. The seed contains from 50 to 57 per cent. 

 of oil. 



Marseilles is the great mill town for sesame seed, importing 

 about 100,000,000 pounds of seed annually. Sesame press 

 cake is widely and favorably known as a cattle feed. The oil 

 is extensively used as human food and for anointing the body 

 in India, while in Europe it serves widely as a salad oil and 

 for use in the manufacture of soap. A particularly fine 

 quality of seed for oil purposes comes from Palestine. 



Sesame seed are dried, ground, and pressed for i l /2 hours. 

 The yield by commercial methods is 32 to 35 per cent, of oil 

 under the system of cold pressure. After this first extraction 



5 per cent, of water is added and the mass is again pressed 

 at a temperature of 50 C. A third application of pressure 

 is then made, yielding about 10 per cent, of oil additional to 

 that obtained from the first two pressures. The oil secured 

 by the first pressure is not of strong flavor and is clear, that 

 obtained from the second and third pressure is darker, of a 

 decided flavor, and with a tendency to become acid. 



The best grade of sesame oil is used as a substitute for olive 

 oil in salads and in medicine and also in margarine and vege- 

 table butters. For this purpose northern Europe imports 

 32,000 tons of sesame seed annually. Sesame cake contains 

 5 to 13 per cent, of fat and 24 to 40 per cent, of protein. The 

 cake is much used as a cattle feed in rations of 2 to 4 pounds 

 per day. 



Sesame oil is one of the important vegetable oils of India. 

 The oil obtained from the first press keeps for a long time 



