Refined oils are extracted using high heat. Also known as hot-pressed oils, refined oils are made by first cleaning them, then grinding them at high speed, which can generate heat up to 200°C and using some chemicals, which finally gives us the oil.
On the other hand, cold-pressed oils are crushed slowly to extract oil from them. No heat is generated during the process. This also helps in retaining the nutrients and the flavours.
Traditionally, words like “Chekku”, “Ghani” and “Kolhu” oil were used in India to describe cold-pressed oil. In fact, in olden times, a long cylindrical instrument, known as ‘ghani’ was used to extract oil from oilseeds.
