I buy small bottles and keep them in the frig. I warm it slightly under warm tap water to use if it gets thick. I keep olive oil in the frig too. I don't use it quickly enough to keep it from becoming rancid.

I agree....if you need another opinion.

Yup, the thickening is temporary, when warmed up to room temp it will be fine again. Sesame oil turns rancid quickly once opened if not refrigerated.

I never know how to store sesame oil properly. I don't use much of it. Every now and then I come across a recipe that I really want to try that calls for sesame oil. I don't keep it in the fridge. Just buy a small bottle and when it begins to smell funny I just throw it out. What a waste!

Al

I store mine in the frige too. It is a strong oil and you don't have to use very much at a time. It should not be cooked but adding at the last of your cooking time.

Linda

I don't store mine in the fridge..I store in the cabinet with my EVOO, booze, tamari, grapeseed oil and vinegars..but I use it up pretty good. I often add it to things..

Since I use very little oil and they can turn rancid so fast, I store all of them except olive oil in the fridge once opened. Peanut oil turns rather solid but it's easy to set it out for a few minutes before using and it will be fine. I've never had my sesame oil turn funky on me. I also store sesame and poppy seeds in my fridge.

Maybe try a different brand? I've kept mine for over a year in the cab with EVOO and it's fine-- never thick or rancid. As a matter of fact I used it this morning! It's from Japan and the brand is Kadoya. It also has a lovely, nutty aroma.

I always stored mine in the cabinet too. I guess I do use it often. I love the smell of sesame oil when doing a quick stir fry for dinner. I also never had a problem with it going rancid.

Unless it has preservatives in it....it will go rancid rather quickly in an unrefrigerated space.
some people just don't taste "rancid". I have many times been served rancid crackers and nuts, and the people who serve them seem to think they are fine.
The sesame oil in my refrigerator is "House of Tsang" and says boldly "no preservatives, no MSG". I had one bottle that broke my heart because it got rancid...it's expensive...and I had to toss it.
I also had walnut oil turn after only about 6 weeks...that also broke my heart!!
I now keep all oils but plain vegetable oil in the refrig...oh and a small bottle of olive oil that is my "working bottle"...that I use to drizzle, to oil an pan and sautee with.
Linda C

Like Linda, I keep all oils in the frig once they have been opened. Things like walnut or hazelnut oils are just too expensive! And I don't want to find that a bottle of plain oil has gone rancid when I need it in a hurry.

Walnut oil is in the fridge, but other oils seem to keep well. Maybe my kitchen is cooler? Canola oil does go rancid after 4-6 months, but at TJ's prices I just toss it and get a new one. The fridge is too crowded for one more big bottle!

Oooh I can taste rancid...so that's not it....I guess I just use it up.. I do keep some other oils in the fridge..but they are not used for consumption. LOL Just skin..But I don't use them near as fast as the oils we eat.

I use Roland pure sesame oil, which I buy in a 56 oz can. I've never worried about refrigeration and it's never gone bad on me. I keep it in a cool place. There's nothing printed on the can about refrigeration after opening. It does say, free of additives and preservatives.

Guess I'd better watch it closer.

Nancy

I've also always stored mine in the cupboard, I use it very seldom, but I just used some last week to drizzle on asparagus and it was fine, I bought it some time last fall. If I weren't so tired from repairing fence all day/lazy I'd get up off my butt and go check the brand...

Annie

I have Dynasty brand (from japan) in the cabinet right now. It says 100% sesame oil, so I suppose no preservatives, but it smells fine after being there for about 6-7 months.

And yes, I can absolutely taste rancid. my neighbor cant and I am always amazed when she puts "nibblies" out that I would have tossed long ago.

Alexa

I have my sesame oil out always. They never go rancid.

Here is some thing for all to consider:

I am in the NYC area and I keep my house very cold. 65 degrees in the winter and air conditioned in the summer.

dcarch

In the fridge, and even there it starts to taste "funny" if I don't use it up in quite a long time.

dcarch - 65 is considered very cold? No wonder my wife is always complaining. For a heated room that's bordering on stuffy in my book. I'm at 58 right now and quite comfy in my boxers and undershirt!

Funny, I use olive oil up so fast I don't bother to store it in the fridge, but I do keep my sesame oil and canola oil in the fridge, because I rarely use them.

Annie, get up off that lazy butt and get something useful done! Sheesh, all you've done is fix fences all day, when you could be industrious and check brand names. What is the world coming to, anyway? lol

Sally

FOAS thanks for a morning laugh! I'm picturing pink hearts on the hanes. Glad to know someone else is out there comfy at their computer.

Thank you everyone for the input. I will try warming the sesame oil now. I do use it often because I love the taste, so it would probably be ok outside of the refrigerator but won't take the chance. It was one of those items that we didn't grow up using so I had no idea of storage and assumed the refrigerator after opening.

I keep my olive oil on the counter all the time and have never had a problem with it going rancid until I tried one of those misters as we talked of in a former thread. I'll keep butter out a couple of days at a time too. Rancid I can smell long before I can taste it.

The walnut oil going rancid easily doesn't surprise me because walnuts go rancid so quick. Sometimes I can open a new package and they're already rancid. I do keep all of my nuts in the freezer to preserve their freshness.

Beth

Beth, I agree, Walnuts go rancid quickly, as do other nuts. I have some slivered almonds in my freezer because I know I won't use them fast enough...

dcarch, I also laughed at 65 as cold. My thermostat never goes above 55 in the winter. Never. I do wear sweats and not my "boxers and undershirt", LOL. I don't have air conditioning, though, so it could be pretty darned hot in the summer, especially during canning season!

Annie

Oh, and Sally, it's too late to get up and check that sesame oil.

I had to get my lazy butt out of bed and come to work this morning. My butt is OK, but my knees and back are complaining!

Annie

Annie - Funny story about that. My programmed night and weekday daytime temp is 55. Evenings and weekends (when wife is home and awake) 68. But for the past two winters I've worked from home and occassionally found 55 to be pretty cold so I'd cry uncle and turn it up a bit. So I've often wondered how you can stand to keep it that cold.

For my birthday I got a Thermapen. I noticed that when I'd turn it on it seemed to read pretty low temperatures. Not knowing if it was accurate for air temp I started taking the temperature of things around the house, like oil in the pantry, a glass of water that sat out for several hours, etc. and came to the conclusion that my thermostat reads 7 degrees high! (The Thermapen is certified calibrated, and I've tested it against ice water and boiling water - no problems there.)

So all this time that my wife would sneak and turn up the heat to 70 or so, all she was really getting was 63. I haven't told her. Even at these low temps my house costs a fortune to heat. Better she feel guilty about "cranking" the heat!

(I hope she doesn't read this - she does look in once in a while, but usually the WFD thread!)

Annie, you could "hang meat" in your house. Nothing should ever spoil there. You barely need a refrigerator!

Yeah, Beverly, I know, but I've always been very "warm". I hate the heat, which is why I'll always have to live in Michigan. My kids tease me that when I retire, I'll go to Alaska instead of Florida!

FOAS, 48 is even a bit chilly for me, LOL. even at that I got a nearly $300 gas bill in January, my old house is hard to keep warm.

The only real problem I encounter by keeping the house so cold is that Ashley complains a lot and bread doesn't rise very quickly. Elery is perfectly comfortable at 55, he's even warmer than I am! Ashley just sits on the couch with her laptop or watching TV, with a small electric space heater, and blanket and a warm dog...

So maybe that's why my sesame oil doesn't go rancid quickly?

Annie

"Posted by annie1992 ---So maybe that's why my sesame oil doesn't go rancid quickly?
Annie"
And why you only look 25 yo. :-)

dcarch

I find walnut oil goes bad even in the fridge. Next time I buy a small bottle, I'll try the freezer LOL

It's odd, my boss in the winter keeps the thermostat set at 64, and I freeze, even with 3 layers on top and 2 on my legs. I dress more for inside than for the outside. But at home I keep the thermostat at around 66 to 68, and I'm comfy...but DH freezes. He likes it hot. We're miserable in a car together in the winter, cause he likes the heater on, and I don't - much. I guess it's the environment, and how open it is. At work there's high ceilings, and he keeps the ceiling fans going all the time, which helps as long as the heaters are running, but when they're not, it's just cold air a blowin'.

Well, okay, Annie, I guess I don't need to know the brand. *wink*

I've never bought or used walnut oil, so I have no experience with it, but I do keep my walnuts in the freezer.

Sally

dcarch, don't I wish! I'll be 55 in May and I keep getting those AARP things in the mail....

Sally, just for you I checked the bottle. House of Tsang, it says no MSG and no preservatives. Maybe I'd better put it in the fridge, it's supposed to be 80 here by Friday. In Michigan, in April, it's just wrong. I'm gonna melt. Sigh.

Annie

Wow Annie, 80 in Atlanta in April is pushing it! That scares me. We're still not thru with the outrageous winter power bills... don't need to start on the summer ones in April.

Also, my folks say AARP has been a God-send with their medicare. That it really does take up the slack of what medicare doesn't pay for. Just a mental note for later down the road. But, yes they do kill a LOT of trees!! LOL

Beth

Thanks, Annie. You know I was just teasing you for thinking of yourself as lazy, especially after fixing fences all day.

An 80 degree day here is considered perfect weather. Not too hot and not too cold. Unfortunately, we don't get many days like that - the not too hot ones, that is. Funny, I have a co-worker from Michigan that absolutely hates the cold...which is one of the reasons she's living in Texas now.

Sally

I know you were teasing, Sally, LOL. See, everything is as it should be. Those of us who like the cold stay here in Michigan, the ones who don't, move to Texas. (Or Florida or Arizona or California).

Anything over 80 is too darned hot for me, and I have more fence repair tomorrow, so I'll be working up a sweat and I won't be happy. The fire danger is extremely high here, we haven't had rain since we had those floods a month ago. No happy medium, apparently, at least not this year, but I sure hope no one drops a match in the National Forest this weekend.

Now you have me thinking I ought to check that oil...

Annie