Where the Price Difference Comes From
Cold-pressing is a slower, lower-yield process. A wooden or stone ghani extracts oil gently, without heat or chemical solvents, which means it produces less oil from the same quantity of seed compared to industrial refining. Add hand-selected, higher-quality seeds to that process, and the cost per bottle naturally goes up. You’re paying for the seed quality and the extraction method — not a markup on the same commodity oil.
Why You Actually Use Less of It
This is the part that rarely gets talked about. Cold-pressed oils are more concentrated in flavor and richness, which means most home cooks naturally use less per dish than they would with a neutral refined oil. A tablespoon of cold-pressed groundnut or sesame oil carries far more flavor into a tempering or curry than the same tablespoon of a refined, flavor-stripped oil — so people instinctively reach for less.
In practice, many households find that a bottle of cold-pressed oil lasts nearly as long as a larger bottle of refined oil used at typical quantities, simply because less is needed per meal.
Comparing the Real Cost
Here’s a simple way to think about it, not as “price per litre” but “price per meal”:
- Refined oil: lower price per litre, but larger quantities used per dish to get flavor and cooking results
- Cold-pressed oil: higher price per litre, but smaller quantities used per dish due to concentrated flavor and richness
When you divide total bottle cost by the number of meals it actually covers, the difference per meal is often far smaller than the shelf price suggests — while you’re also getting more retained nutrition and no chemical processing.
It’s Also an Investment in What’s Not in the Bottle
Beyond quantity used, there’s what you’re avoiding: no hexane solvent residue, no high-heat bleaching or deodorizing, no additives to mask an already-processed product. That’s harder to put a rupee value on, but it’s a real part of what the price reflects.
The Bottom Line
Cold-pressed oil isn’t cheap because it isn’t cutting corners — not in the seed, not in the process, and not in your food. When you account for how much less of it you actually need per meal, the true cost gap between cold-pressed and refined oil is much smaller than the number on the shelf label suggests.