Sesame is an important item in the traditional diet of the Shan people in Mae Hong Son. In addition to the various sweets that employ the seed, sesame is also used for its oil. Most places in Mae Hong Son use a mechanical press to make sesame oil, but one place in Ban Pang Muu, about 5km north of the provincial capital, still does it the old way: by buffalo.
They begin with dried sesame, shown above. When the pods are fully grown and dried, they open themselves, and getting the seeds out simply involves turning them over and shaking them out. The seeds are washed thoroughly, dried, and are ready to go
A bit of a water is added to the large wooden mortar-like vessel:
followed by the seeds themselves:
which have been washed thoroughly and dried slightly, but are not roasted beforehand, as in Chinese-style sesame oil:
A rather reluctant buffalo is connected to a large wooden 'pestle' and proceeds to walk around in circles, driving the pestle and crushing the seeds:
It takes about three hours to extract all the oil, and the guy above has to walk with the buffalo the entire time, otherwise it will stop:
After an hour or so the oil begins to separate from the seeds and rises to the top. After three hours it's simply scooped out by hand. It takes 15kg of seeds to produce 4kg of oil, which is then put old whiskey bottles and sold in the province's markets:
To see this process firsthand, visit:
Pang Moo Organic Sesame Project 255/1 Moo 1, Pang Moo, Mae Hong Son 053 612 534