Daming Small Stone Mill Sesame Oil

Daming Small Stone Mill Sesame Oil

Daming small stone mill sesame oil is a protected geographical indication product.

　　   The small stone mill sesame oil of Daming County first appeared in the fourth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1878). The first producer was Yang Diankui, a Hui Muslim from Nanguan. He switched from trading in textiles to making sesame oil. At that time, he invited an oil-milling master from Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong. Together, they opened a small stone mill sesame oil workshop on West Street in the inner city of Daming (opposite the entrance to Yangshi Street). This person was good at running a business. In addition to selling sesame oil door-to-door every day, he also supplied oil on credit daily to bun shops and steamed bun stores, keeping accounts for each shop and settling payments regularly. As a result, small stone mill sesame oil gradually became widespread in Daming. Especially among the Hui people, sesame oil was mostly used for seasoning. The volume of oil sold increased from small to large. They could sell sesame oil made from six dou of sesame seeds per day (one dou equals twenty-four jin).

　　         Yang Diankui’s family *earned money from operating the small stone mill sesame oil business. After three years, the oil-milling technician wanted to resign and return home. When leaving, Yang Diankui accompanied him with gifts and covered his travel expenses. Touched by this gesture, the technician shared the secret of oil milling with him halfway through the journey. It consisted of only two phrases: “toast the sesame well, stir the oil well.” That meant after roasting the sesame, it should be cooled by fanning with a wooden shovel—the cooler the sesame, the more fragrant it becomes. When stirring the oil, it must be stirred thoroughly—the more thoroughly stirred, the more oil is extracted. After returning home, Yang Diankui mastered the technique and began operating the small stone mill sesame oil workshop independently. His business prospered more and more. It wasn’t until around the fourteenth year of the Republic of China (circa 1925) that other sesame oil producers emerged, but their sales volumes were far less than those of Yang Diankui’s family.

　　Daming Small Stone Mill Sesame Oil

　　    The current administrative region of Daming County, Hebei Province

　　    “Report by the People’s Government of Daming County on the Application to Define the Origin Scope of Daming Small Stone Mill Sesame Oil,” Dazheng Cheng [2012] No. 25

　　    Hebei Provincial Local Standard: DB13/T1118-2009 “Daming (Small Stone Mill) Sesame Oil”