Lao Rui Sesame Oil

Lao Rui Sesame Oil

　　Lao Rui Sesame Oil is a specialty of Taoxin Town, Wuhu County, Wuhu City, Anhui Province. Produced using an original, ancient wooden press method, Lao Rui Sesame Oil boasts a rich, mellow, and uniquely fragrant taste that can be smelled from afar.

　　The wood-pressing process involves using only human labor and wooden equipment to press rapeseed and sesame into edible oil, without any chemical solvents, preservatives, or flavorings. This ensures the oil’s authenticity, purity, and nutritional richness, making it safe and worry-free for consumption. Historical records from the Tang Dynasty indicate that wood-pressed oil was offered as a tribute to the imperial court. The production process includes: first removing impurities from the rapeseed using a winnowing fan, roasting the seeds in a wok, grinding them into meal on a milling slab, packing the meal into oil cakes, pressing them in a wooden press, and then extracting the oil through wooden mallet pounding, followed by settling and filtering. The oil must be stored for a week before it is ready for use. The pressing troughs and pounding mallets are typically made from sandalwood or chestnut wood.

　　Lao Rui’s “Wood-Pressed Oil Workshop” produces over 300 tons of pressed rapeseed annually, and its rapeseed oil and sesame oil are widely renowned in the market. “Lao Rui Oil Workshop” has a deep connection with tourism—it is a designated tourism commodity producer in Wuhu City, a county-level intangible cultural heritage enterprise, and an important part of the Taoxin Water Rhythm (a 3A-level scenic spot) National Agricultural Tourism Demonstration Site. In 2011, the workshop began accelerating its application for provincial-level intangible cultural heritage status. Leveraging the “Taoxin Water Rhythm” scenic area, it is focused on building the brand identity of Lao Rui’s wood-pressed rapeseed and sesame oil, actively applying for registration as a well-known trademark in Anhui Province and as a national green product. It is also establishing a company + farmers + base linkage mechanism to strengthen the industrial chain. The goal is to further promote the ancient wood-pressing craft—of which Lao Rui Oil Workshop is one of the largest and nearly the last remaining in the country—and revive this vanishing traditional technique.