You may have heard that cold pressed oil for deep frying is a bad idea. It isn't, as long as the oil's smoke point sits above your frying temperature. Wood cold pressed groundnut oil (210°C) and mustard oil (200°C) clear that bar. Sesame, coconut and olive oil are better kept for gentler cooking.

Here is how to tell which oil belongs in which pan.

What Is the Smoke Point of Cooking Oils?

The smoke point is the temperature at which an oil starts to smoke and break down. Go past it and the oil smells sharp, the food can turn bitter, and the oil stops doing its job in the pan. Every oil has its own number, so the smoke point of cooking oils can differ a lot from one bottle to the next.

Deep frying usually happens somewhere between 175°C and 190°C. So the check is simple: pick an oil whose smoke point is comfortably above that range. An oil that tops out at 185°C or 190°C leaves you almost no margin once the pan heats unevenly.

Does Cold Pressing Change the Cold Pressed Oil Smoke Point?

The cold pressed oil smoke point comes mostly from the oil itself, meaning the seed or nut it was pressed from. Cold pressing doesn't set the number on its own. Wood cold pressed Groundnut oil sits at 210°C and olive oil at 185°C, and both are cold pressed.

So where does the idea that cold pressed oil smokes early come from? Often it comes from tiny bits of seed left in the oil after pressing. In wood cold pressed oils these can stay suspended, and they touch the hot pan first. They may sizzle or smoke before the oil reaches its real smoke point. At Gramiyaa we remove seed residue in two steps. First, the oil rests in long sedimentation tanks, where gravity settles the residue on its own. Then the oil passes through 915 GSM cotton fabric, fine enough to catch the tinier residue gravity missed. With that residue gone, there is nothing left to smoke early on the hot pan. It is worth asking how any brand you compare handles this.

Smoke Point of Cooking Oils in the Gramiyaa Range

Here are the smoke points from Gramiyaa product specifications, next to what each oil is best used for. These numbers hold for Gramiyaa oils because of the two-step seed residue removal described above. Other cold pressed oils may smoke at lower temperatures.

Oil

Smoke point

Flavour

Best for

Wood Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil

210°C

Light nutty

Deep frying, tempering, sautéing

Wood Cold Pressed Mustard Oil

200°C

Moderately pungent

Marinating, sautéing, frying

Wood Cold Pressed Sesame Oil

190°C

Mild earthy

Sautéing, tempering, dressing

Wood Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

190°C

Mild coconutty

Sautéing, baking, slow-cooking

Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

190°C

Sweet coconutty

Low to mid heat cooking, baking, gentle roasting, dressing

Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil

185°C

Neutral

Everyday cooking

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

185°C

Fresh fruity

Air-frying, sautéing, garnishing

Best Oil for Deep Frying: Which Cold Pressed Oils Hold Up

When you look for the best oil for deep frying, start with the top of the table. Two oils in our range have the headroom for it.

Groundnut Oil: A High Smoke Point Cooking Oil for Everyday Frying

At 210°C, wood cold pressed groundnut oil has about 20°C of room above a normal frying range. That is a useful cushion when you are frying batch after batch for a festival meal. The flavour is light and nutty, so puris, pakoras and samosas still taste like themselves.

If you want one high smoke point cooking oil for a kitchen that fries now and then, this is the one we point to.

Mustard Oil: For Frying With More Flavour

Wood cold pressed mustard oil has a smoke point of 200°C, so it handles frying too. The difference is the taste. It is moderately pungent, and that sharpness carries into the food. It suits fish, vegetables and snacks that are meant to have a bite.

Oils Better Kept for Gentler Cooking

Sesame and coconut oil both sit at 190°C, right at the top of a deep frying range. Sunflower and olive oil sit at 185°C, which is inside it. They work well elsewhere. Use sesame oil for sautéing, tempering and dressing, and coconut oil for sautéing, baking and slow-cooking. Virgin coconut oil suits low to mid heat cooking and baking. Our sunflower oil is a neutral-tasting pick for everyday cooking, and extra virgin olive oil is best for air-frying, sautéing and garnishing.

Cold Pressed Oil for Frying: Tips for the Pan

A good smoke point helps, but how you fry matters just as much. These habits make cold pressed oil for frying easier to work with.

• Watch the temperature. Aim for 175°C to 190°C. With no thermometer, drop in a small piece of batter. It should rise and sizzle steadily without browning in seconds.

• Dry the food first. Extra moisture makes oil spatter and foam. Pat vegetables and marinated pieces dry before they go in.

• Fry in small batches. Too much food at once drops the oil temperature and leaves the snack greasy.

• Turn the heat down when you see steady smoke. A wisp is normal. Constant smoke means the oil is too hot.

• Store the bottle well. Keep it in in the same Gramiyaa pack it comes in, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, with the cap closed. Do not use a pack that is bloated or leaking.

Pick the Right Oil for Your Next Fry

If a batch of puris or pakoras is coming up, start with Gramiyaa Wood Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil. For a sharper taste, try Gramiyaa Wood Cold Pressed Mustard Oil. Every batch is lab-tested and traceable, and you can scan the QR on the pack to see the details at trace.gramiyaa.com

FAQs

Can you deep fry with cold pressed oil?

Yes. Can you deep fry with cold pressed oil is really a question about the specific oil. Groundnut oil at 210°C and mustard oil at 200°C are both above the usual frying range of 175°C to 190°C. Oils with lower smoke points are better used for sautéing, tempering or dressing.

Which cold pressed oil is best for deep frying?

In our range, wood cold pressed groundnut oil. It has the highest smoke point of the oils we make, and its light nutty flavour stays in the background. Wood cold pressed mustard oil is the choice when you want a sharper taste in the food.

Does cold pressed oil have a lower smoke point than other oils?

Not by default. Each oil has its own smoke point based on what it is made from, whether it is cold pressed or not. Compare the number printed or listed for the oil you are buying, rather than going by the pressing method.

What happens if oil goes past its smoke point?

It starts to smoke steadily and smell sharp. The oil breaks down, and your food can taste bitter or burnt. If this happens, take the pan off the heat, let it cool, and start again with fresh oil.

What temperature should you deep fry at?

Most deep frying happens between 175°C and 190°C. Choose an oil whose smoke point sits above that range, like wood cold pressed groundnut oil at 210°C or mustard oil at 200°C. A thermometer is the easy way to check. Without one, drop in a small piece of batter and see if it rises and sizzles steadily.