The Truth About Extraction: Why We Press Cold
There is a reason industrial oil is cheap, and artisan oil is not. It comes down to one thing: Heat.
Most commercial oils are extracted using high heat (up to 200°C) and chemical solvents like Hexane to squeeze every last drop out of the seed. It’s efficient for profit, but it destroys the product. Heat kills the enzymes, neutralizes the flavor, and burns off the volatile compounds.
At Oil Gallery, we do the opposite. We use a slow, mechanical cold-press method right here in Alicante. Here is why that matters for your bottle.
1. Preserving the Volatile Compounds
Nigella Sativa seeds are famous for their complex chemical profile, specifically Thymoquinone (TQ). These compounds are volatile—they degrade rapidly when exposed to heat. By keeping our pressing temperature strictly controlled (below 40°C), we ensure that the natural compounds found in the Ethiopian seed end up in your bottle, not evaporated in the factory.
2. Flavor That Bites Back
If your Black Seed Oil tastes mild or bland, it has likely been refined or cut with cheaper oils. Real, cold-pressed Ethiopian oil should be intense, peppery, and pungent. It should have a "kick." That intensity is the flavor of the volatile oils. We don't deodorize our oil. We bottle the intensity exactly as nature intended.
3. Unfiltered & Unrefined
You might notice sediment at the bottom of our bottles. This is intentional. We don't filter our oil through industrial mesh. We let it settle naturally. This cloudy sediment contains seed particles rich in nutrients and flavor. Shake the bottle before you pour—that’s the good stuff.
4. Zero Solvents (Green Production)
Refined oils are often washed with chemicals to bleach the color and remove the smell. Our process is purely mechanical. Just pressure.
- Input: 100% Ethiopian Nigella Sativa Seeds.
- Output: 100% Virgin Oil. Nothing added, nothing taken away.
5. Culinary Versatility
Because our oil is unrefined, it has a low smoke point. It is not for frying. It is a Finishing Oil.
- Drizzle it over salads to add a peppery spice.
- Blend it into smoothies to mask the bitterness.
- Take it raw to experience the full profile.
The Oil Gallery Standard
We don't press for maximum yield; we press for maximum quality. By sourcing seeds from the volcanic soil of the Bale Mountains and pressing them in small batches in Spain, we control every step of the chain.
Taste the difference of Cold-Pressed