Toasted sesame oil vs olive oil — when to use each?

Our verdict

Sesame for East Asian dishes; Tuscan olive oil for Mediterranean ones.

At a glance

When to choose Toasted Sesame Oil

Reach for toasted sesame oil when the plate is East Asian and you want that unmistakable nutty-roasted aroma. The seeds are roasted before pressing, which gives the deep amber color and a flavor that reads toasted nut, warm sesame, and a savory roasted depth with a faint smoky edge. It's potent — a teaspoon goes a long way — so use it the way it's meant to be used: stirred into a bowl of noodles at the end, drizzled over bibimbap, whisked into a dumpling dipping sauce, or balanced into a dressing with rice vinegar and soy. The key move is timing. Toasted sesame oil is a finishing oil, not a cooking fat; the roasted aromatics that justify it scorch and turn bitter in a hot pan, so add it off the heat, right before serving. For everyday cooking, a standard 11oz bottle of Kadoya runs about $9 and lasts a long time given how little you use. If you want to splurge, artisanal Korean stone-pressed bottles climb past $40 and carry a deeper, rounder roast — worth it once for a special dressing, overkill for weeknight noodles. The catch is using it as olive oil's stand-in: its roasted character dominates anything Mediterranean and will fight a bruschetta or a salad of tomatoes. Keep it for the cuisine it belongs to. If you're dressing a Tuscan plate, this is the wrong bottle — that's the olive oil's job.

When to choose Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil IGP

Choose Tuscan olive oil when you want a green, peppery finishing oil for the Mediterranean table. Toscano IGP is the benchmark Italian finishing oil — a blend of Tuscan cultivars (Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino), early-harvested green and cold-pressed, PGI-protected since 1998 with bottling required inside Tuscany. The flavor is herbaceous and assertive, with a peppery, bitter finish that signals freshness and polyphenols. Pour it raw and late: over bruschetta, into a bowl of ribollita, across a grilled steak, over white beans or a plate of just-boiled greens. About $33 for 500ml in the US, around £22 in the UK — a splurge, but you use it by the spoonful and a little finishes a plate. The catch is heat: this is a finishing oil, full stop, and frying with it burns off the grassy, peppery aromatics you paid the IGP premium for. Buy it, keep it cool and dark, and use a cheaper oil in the pan. If your dish is East Asian — noodles, bibimbap, a dumpling sauce — this is the wrong oil, because its herbaceous bitterness clashes with the roasted-sesame register those plates are built around. That's where toasted sesame oil takes over.

Frequently asked questions

Can I substitute sesame oil for olive oil?

Not in either direction. Toasted sesame oil's roasted, nutty character dominates a Mediterranean plate, and olive oil's green pepperiness reads wrong on East Asian dishes. They're both finishing oils, but they belong to different cuisines. Match the oil to the plate, not to whatever's open.

Can you cook with either of these?

Both are finishing oils, not cooking fats. Toasted sesame oil scorches and turns bitter in a hot pan; Tuscan IGP olive oil loses its peppery aromatics to high heat. Add each one off the heat, right before serving, and use a cheaper neutral oil for actual frying.

Is the $40 Korean sesame oil worth it over the $9 Kadoya?

For everyday noodles and weeknight sauces, no — the $9 Kadoya does the job well. The stone-pressed Korean bottle gives a deeper, rounder roast that shows in a raw dressing or a special dish. Buy it once for that, but don't waste it stir-frying.

Why does the Tuscan oil cost so much more?

It's a single-region IGP extra-virgin, early-harvested and cold-pressed from named Tuscan cultivars, bottled within Tuscany — all of which is regulated and low-yield. Standard toasted sesame oil like Kadoya is a high-volume commodity product. You're paying for protected provenance and finishing-grade flavor.