How Cold Press Mustard Oil is Made — The Wooden Ghani Process
From mustard seed to amber oil — a step-by-step look at how genuine kachi ghani cold press mustard oil is made, and why the process matters for your health.
What is a Ghani?
A Ghani (also spelled Ghani or Chekku in South India) is a traditional oil press. In its original form, it consists of a large wooden mortar and pestle — the mortar is a deep cylindrical vessel carved from hardwood, and the pestle is a heavy wooden beam that rotates inside it.
Historically, the pestle was turned by a bullock walking in circles around the press. Today, most small-scale traditional manufacturers use electric motors to turn the pestle — but the fundamental mechanism is identical: slow, steady mechanical pressure applied to seeds at ambient temperature.
The word kachi means raw or unprocessed. Kachi ghani therefore means oil extracted by the raw press method — without heat, without solvents, without any processing beyond mechanical pressure.
Step 1: Seed Selection and Cleaning
The process begins long before the press. Mustard seeds are sourced from trusted agricultural suppliers and inspected for quality — moisture content, purity, and absence of contaminants.
Before pressing, the seeds are cleaned to remove dust, stones, and plant debris. This is done using a combination of air separation and mechanical sieving.
Why it matters: Impurities in the seed translate directly into impurities in the oil. Clean seeds are the foundation of clean oil.
Step 2: Conditioning (Optional, Temperature-Controlled)
Some cold press operations lightly condition seeds before pressing — bringing them to a consistent moisture level and temperature. This is done at ambient or very slightly elevated temperatures (never above 45°C) to improve oil yield without compromising the cold press standard.
At Dune Aura, we monitor seed temperature throughout this stage. Our strict threshold is below 45°C — the point at which heat-sensitive compounds like Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E begin to degrade.
Step 3: The Press — Slow, Steady, Cold
This is the heart of the process.
The conditioned mustard seeds are fed into the wooden Ghani. The pestle rotates slowly — typically at 8–15 RPM — applying continuous mechanical pressure to the seeds. As the seeds are crushed and compressed, the oil is squeezed out and flows down through a channel at the base of the mortar.
The key parameters:
- Speed: Slow rotation generates less friction heat than high-speed industrial expellers
- Temperature: Continuously monitored to ensure it stays below 45°C
- Pressure: Gradual and consistent — not the sudden high-pressure shock of industrial presses
- Time: A single batch takes significantly longer than industrial extraction — but the oil that emerges is fundamentally different
The oil that flows from the Ghani is raw, unfiltered, and deeply amber — carrying the full colour, aroma, and nutritional profile of the mustard seed.
Step 4: Natural Settling and Filtration
The freshly pressed oil contains fine seed particles and natural sediment. Rather than using chemical clarifiers or high-heat processing to remove these, we allow the oil to settle naturally over time.
After settling, the oil is passed through a fine filter to remove remaining particles. No chemicals. No bleaching. No deodorisation.
The result is oil that may have a slight natural cloudiness — a sign of authenticity, not a defect. Refined oils are crystal clear because everything that causes cloudiness (including nutrients) has been removed.
Step 5: Quality Testing
Before bottling, every batch of Dune Aura cold press mustard oil is tested for:
- Free fatty acid (FFA) content — an indicator of freshness and seed quality
- Peroxide value — measures oxidation (freshness)
- Moisture content
- Colour and aroma — sensory verification against our quality standard
We are FSSAI certified, and our testing protocols meet the standards required for food-grade edible oil manufacturing in India.
Step 6: Bottling and Dispatch
The tested oil is bottled in food-grade containers — 1L, 2L, and 5L — and dispatched directly to customers. We supply households across Sectors 9, 9A, 10, and 10A in Gurgaon, and offer bulk B2B supply in larger volumes for restaurants, food businesses, and distributors across India.
Because cold press mustard oil has no artificial preservatives, we recommend consuming it within 6–12 months of pressing and storing it away from direct sunlight.
Why the Process Matters for Your Health
The wooden Ghani process is not just tradition for its own sake. Every step is designed to preserve what makes mustard oil nutritionally valuable:
Temperature control preserves Omega-3 fatty acids (ALA), which begin to oxidise and convert to trans fats above 45°C.
No solvents means no hexane residues — a concern with industrially refined oils.
No bleaching means the natural carotenoids and chlorophylls that give cold press mustard oil its amber colour remain intact.
No deodorisation means the volatile compounds responsible for mustard oil's characteristic pungency — including allyl isothiocyanate, with its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties — are preserved.
Natural filtration means the oil retains trace amounts of phospholipids and natural waxes that are removed in refined oils.
The Difference You Can See, Smell, and Taste
If you have never compared kachi ghani cold press mustard oil with refined mustard oil side by side, the difference is immediately apparent:
- Colour: Deep amber vs pale yellow
- Aroma: Strong, pungent, characteristic vs mild or odourless
- Flavour: Complex, warming, with the distinctive mustard heat vs neutral
- Texture: Slightly viscous vs thin and watery
These are not cosmetic differences. They are the direct result of a process that preserves the oil's natural composition rather than stripping it away.
Visit Us in Gurgaon
Dune Aura manufactures cold press mustard oil at DSS 53, Sector 9A Market, Gurgaon 122001. We welcome B2B enquiries from restaurants, food businesses, and distributors who want to understand our process and verify our quality standards firsthand.
For home delivery in Gurgaon or bulk supply across India, contact us or submit a B2B enquiry.
Explore our full range of cold press oils and stone-ground spices →
FAQ
How is cold press mustard oil made? Cold press mustard oil is made by loading cleaned mustard seeds into a wooden or mechanical Ghani press and pressing them slowly at below 45°C. No external heat is applied and no chemical solvents are used. The oil flows out naturally from the press, is allowed to settle for 24–48 hours so fine seed particles sink to the bottom, then carefully decanted and bottled. The entire process preserves all the natural nutrients, pungency, and flavour of the mustard seed.
What is a wooden Ghani (kachi ghani)? A Ghani is a traditional oil press consisting of a large wooden mortar and a heavy wooden pestle that rotates inside it. Historically turned by a bullock walking in circles, modern small-scale manufacturers use electric motors — but the fundamental mechanism is identical: slow, steady mechanical pressure applied to seeds at ambient temperature. "Kachi ghani" means oil extracted by this raw press method — without heat, without solvents, without any processing beyond mechanical pressure.
What temperature is cold press mustard oil extracted at? Genuine cold press mustard oil is extracted at below 45°C. The pressing mechanism generates some friction heat, but the process is designed to keep temperatures below this threshold throughout. This is critical because the beneficial compounds in mustard oil — omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, allyl isothiocyanate — begin to degrade above 45°C. Refined mustard oil is extracted and processed at 160–270°C, destroying most of these compounds.
How is cold press mustard oil different from solvent-extracted mustard oil? Cold press mustard oil is extracted purely by mechanical pressure — no chemicals involved. Solvent-extracted (refined) mustard oil uses hexane, a petroleum-derived industrial solvent, to dissolve the oil out of the seed material. The hexane is then evaporated by heating, and the crude oil is further refined — bleached and deodorised — at temperatures up to 270°C. The result is a pale, odourless oil with most of its nutritional value destroyed. Cold press oil goes from seed to bottle with no chemical contact.
Does cold press mustard oil contain sediment — is that normal? Yes — a small amount of natural sediment at the bottom of a cold press mustard oil bottle is normal and a sign of genuine cold pressing. The sediment consists of fine seed particles that settled naturally during the 24–48 hour settling period after pressing. It is not a defect. Refined mustard oil is crystal clear because it has been chemically filtered and bleached — processes that also remove the beneficial compounds.
Related Reading
- Kachi Ghani Sarson Ka Tel in Gurugram — Complete Guide
- Mustard Oil Manufacturer in Gurugram — B2B & Bulk Supply
- Kachi Ghani vs Refined Mustard Oil — What's the Real Difference?
- 9 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Sarson Ka Tel
- Cold Press Mustard Oil in Gurgaon — Why Sector 9A Residents Are Switching
- Cold Press Coconut Oil vs Mustard Oil — Which is Better?
- About Dune Aura — Our Process & Story
Order in Gurugram and Delhi NCR
If you are looking for cold pressed mustard oil for your kitchen, Dune Aura offers local ordering options for readers in Gurugram and the wider Delhi NCR region. Explore cold pressed mustard oil in Gurugram and cold pressed mustard oil across Delhi NCR to compare availability and choose the right option for your household.
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