Have you ever seen in the movies where the Greeks would sit and compress olives between two bowls until liquid was produced? The same concept applies to sunflower seeds when making sunflower oil.
Another term for compressing the kernels of the sunflower seed is called cold pressing. Not only are there no chemicals used to extract the oils, but there is also no heat during this cold pressing process. This is the most natural way to obtain the oil and preserve all its golden goodness.
Cold-pressed sunflower oil is also known as unrefined oil because it hasn’t gone through a lot of procedures to reach the consistency we all know. The flavor is also more prominent and full. The only downside to getting oil the old-fashioned way is that it doesn’t fry food properly because it can’t handle extremely high temperatures.
Chemical extraction is widely used today. Chemical solvents help extract the oil and thus produce what most of us see in the bottles, namely refined sunflower oil. Because the seeds undergo many chemical changes, the consistency changes frequently, causing the oil to be constantly refined into the sunflower oil we know today. The main reason people started using chemicals to get the oil is because they noticed that it was more stable at high temperatures during cooking and frying.
The process is relatively simple and easy to do as long as you have the correct equipment. Compressing the beans will be more difficult than one might think due to the amount of force that is needed for the process. You can also see the difference between naturally extracted and chemically extracted oil. Cold-pressed sunflower oil has a bright golden color that looks richer and denser. If this oil has not been filtered, you will notice cloudiness or bits floating in the fluid.
Sunflower oil that has been extracted through a chemical process is lighter in color. The flavor is also mild, and often you won’t be able to smell the oil. There are benefits to both types of extraction methods.
Which sunflower oil you choose is up to you, as it will depend on what you prefer and what the people you serve prefer. This cooking oil has benefits no matter what procedure you went through because it all comes from a healthy sunflower seed.