Today, sunflower oil is a popular vegetable oil, with applications including cooking and margarine production. Its by-products are used in biodiesel production and to make high-protein animal feed. It has a mild flavor and a high smoke point and is rich in the essential linoleic acid, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K; our trusty ol¡¯ WebMD attests to it.
Where did sunflower oil come from?
Sunflowers have been around for a while and they¡¯ve had quite the journey, beginning in their native North America and making their way to numerous countries around the world. But it¡¯s only been a few centuries since humankind figured out how sunflower oil is made and began to exploit the plant for its oil.
What are the steps in sunflower oil production?
When it comes to sunflower oil, the steps that are critical in the production of clear, high quality, and safe edible oil are degumming, alkali neutralisation, bleaching, dewaxing, deodorisation, and an optional winterization process ¨C each of these processes is explained in detail elsewhere on our blog and website. So there you have it.
How is sunflower oil made?
But naturally, when carried out at an industrial scale, the sunflower oil making process has more steps and more complexity involved. Within a factory setting, the process begins with preparatory steps and culminates in bleaching and deodorizing ¨C essentially, the refining process. So, how is sunflower oil extracted?