How-to guide
How to Buy Argan Oil — Culinary and Cosmetic, and How to Judge Quality
Argan oil, pressed from the nuts of a tree that grows only in southwest Morocco, comes in two quite different forms: a toasted, nutty culinary oil for drizzling and making amlou, and an untoasted cosmetic oil for skin and hair. Knowing which you want, and how to spot the real, unadulterated thing, matters — genuine argan oil is labour-intensive and never cheap. This guide helps you buy well. If you are making the classic almond spread, culinary oil is essential, so see how to make amlou.
About 20 minutes
Step by step
- 1
Decide culinary or cosmetic
First be clear which oil you need. Culinary argan oil is pressed from lightly roasted nuts, so it is darker and smells and tastes nuttily toasted; it is for food. Cosmetic argan oil is pressed from unroasted nuts, is paler and near odourless, and is for skin and hair. They are not interchangeable.
- 2
Judge by colour and smell
Good culinary argan oil is a rich golden-amber and smells distinctly of toasted nuts. Cosmetic oil is paler and almost scentless. Oil that smells rancid, sour or of nothing when it should be nutty, or that looks suspiciously pale for a culinary oil, is a warning sign of poor quality or dilution.
- 3
Check how it is sold
Prefer oil sold in a dark glass bottle, which protects it from light, and look for a pressing or best-before date. Argan oil goes rancid over time, so freshness matters. Be wary of oil decanted into unlabelled plastic bottles with no indication of type, purity or date.
- 4
Understand the price
Real argan oil is time-consuming to produce and is never cheap; a genuine bottle costs a fair amount in MAD. Oil offered very cheaply is likely cut with a cheaper oil such as sunflower, or not argan at all. As with saffron, an implausibly low price is the clearest warning.
- 5
Do a simple quality check
Pure argan oil feels smooth, absorbs into the skin fairly quickly without a heavy greasy film, and, if culinary, tastes cleanly of toasted nuts with no rancid edge. A greasy oil that just sits on the skin, or a culinary oil that tastes flat, bland or off, suggests it has been diluted.
- 6
Buy from a credible source
Buy from a seller who can tell you whether the oil is culinary or cosmetic, how and where it was pressed, and roughly when. Women's cooperatives in the argan region are a well-known source. A seller vague about the type and origin, selling only cheap unlabelled bottles, is best avoided.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Buying cosmetic argan oil to cook with, or culinary oil expecting an odourless skincare oil.
- Treating a very low price as a bargain when it signals dilution or fakery.
- Buying oil in clear plastic with no label, type or date.
- Ignoring a rancid or flat smell, which reveals old or cut oil.
- Assuming all argan oil is the same regardless of how it was pressed.
Tips from the kitchen
- Culinary argan oil is toasted, darker and nutty; cosmetic oil is pale and near odourless.
- Choose oil in dark glass with a pressing or best-before date.
- Genuine culinary oil tastes cleanly of toasted nuts, with no rancid edge.
- Expect to pay a fair price in MAD — real argan oil is never cheap.
- Cooperatives in the argan region are a well-regarded place to buy.
Questions
What is the difference between culinary and cosmetic argan oil?
Culinary argan oil is pressed from lightly roasted nuts, giving a darker, toasted, nutty oil used for food such as drizzling and making amlou. Cosmetic argan oil is pressed from unroasted nuts, is paler and almost odourless, and is used on skin and hair. They are made differently and are not interchangeable.
How can I tell if argan oil is pure?
Judge it by colour, smell, feel and price. Culinary oil should be golden-amber and smell of toasted nuts; cosmetic oil paler and near scentless. Pure oil absorbs fairly quickly without a heavy greasy film, and culinary oil tastes cleanly nutty. A rancid or flat smell, a greasy feel or a suspiciously low price suggests dilution.
Why is argan oil so expensive?
Because it is labour-intensive to produce. The argan tree grows only in a small region of southwest Morocco, and extracting the oil from its hard nuts has traditionally involved a great deal of hand work. That effort, plus the limited growing area, makes genuine argan oil costly, so very cheap oil is almost always cut or fake.
Can I cook with any argan oil?
No — only culinary argan oil, pressed from roasted nuts, should be used for food. Cosmetic argan oil is processed for skincare, not eating, and lacks the toasted flavour that makes culinary oil worth using in dishes like amlou. Always check the bottle states it is culinary or food-grade before cooking or drizzling with it.
Learn it hands-on in Marrakech
Reading is one thing; doing it beside a local host is another. Book a Marrakech cooking class, or explore the medina on a guided food tour.