Horiuchi, the oil of memory
In Kobe, a house founded in 1872 presses sesame seeds like breathing.
Horiuchi has been pressing sesame oil since 1872. Five generations, one recipe. The seeds are roasted at 130°C — not a degree more — air-cooled, then crushed under a stone press. The yield is low (3 kg of seeds for 1 liter of oil), but the flavor signature is unbeatable.
Industrial sesame oil is hexane-extracted, refined, deodorized. Horiuchi has refused this path from the start. Roasting is done in rotating copper vats, manually controlled. Each batch is tasted by the master roaster, who adjusts the time to the second.
The story
Three oils are produced: golden sesame (light, clear), toasted sesame (amber, intense), black sesame (deep, smoky). Each corresponds to a use: final seasoning, hot marinade, accompanying sauce. None is redundant.
« Sesame oil doesn't need to shout. It speaks when you listen. »
The terroir
Horiuchi sesame comes from Myanmar and Senegal — Japan no longer cultivates it on a commercial scale. But the sourcing is rigorous: organic, calibrated, non-GMO certified seeds. They arrive in 50 kg jute bags, selected grain by grain.
Kobe has traditionally been the city of oils. Since the Meiji era, its port has seen all the world's oilseeds pass through. Horiuchi is one of the last artisanal houses to perpetuate this tradition, in a 200 m² workshop that hasn't changed since 1950.
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