Oil is an an integral part of our household and everyday cooking
It is however sad that FAT or oils are associated with all the negative things when it comes to your body
We have been influenced and systematically taught how to focus on EATING LESS of the WRONG KIND OF FAT.
It is important to to highlight and emphasize on the EATING the RIGHT kind of FAT which is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for us and adds great flavor to your food
What is the role of fats in cooking ?
Fats help transportation of flavor to our taste buds. Most of the flavor molecules present in spices can only be dissolved in fats. Water cannot dissolve most of these molecules present in our everyday spices. We have seen our famous chefs adding whole spices and ingredients to heated oil to enhance the flavor of food.
On the other hand if spices are added to water most of the molecules present in spices escape in the air as water cannot absorb these molecules.
Types of Oils based on extraction :
There are primarily two types of oils based on the extraction process:
Hot-pressed Oils
Cold-pressed Oils
Hot pressed Oils :
Refined oils available in the market or local grocery store are made using Hot press method
The seeds from which oil is to be extracted are roasted. The roasted seeds are then pressed under pressure at extremely high temperatures to maximize oil extraction.
Extracted oil is then bleached and processed to remove moisture, color and odor this process is known as deodorization process. A lot of healthy components are lost due to this process.
Treating seeds at high temperature increases their acidic value which causes the oils to loose their essential nutrients and causes the color of the extracted oil to go dark.
Due to these reasons Hot pressed oil has to undergo REFINING to make them look natural, taste neutral and also remove dust and other impurities.
All edible oils contain tocopherols (essential source of Vitamin E) in different total amounts and different ratios of α-, β-, γ- and d-tocopherols. Tocopherols are partially removed during the deodorisation process, which is the last step in refining edible oil. They are often RESTORED by adding ADDITIVES which are nature-identical preparations or natural tocopherol concentrates.
Cold Pressed Oils :
There are online stores like Sheva Fresh and other local stores selling oils which are extracted using Cold pressed method
Cold-pressed oils are extracted by pressing seeds and nuts with no heat at room temperature. During the process the only heat generated is due to friction during the pressing process. This heat is takes the extraction process few degrees above room temperature.
There is no need for heating the seeds i.e. preconditioning before the extraction process
NO HARMFUL CHEMICALS are added during the entire process. As the oil is obtaining by naturally crushing seeds and nuts.
As this process is performed at low temperatures, the extraction process makes the oil low in acidic value. This retains all the essential nutrients of the oil.
Cold pressed oil does not require REFINING and can be readily used immediately after precipitation and filtration.
As the oils are not refined they contain moisture hence cold-pressed oils so are not ideal for long-term storage. So it is better to buy oils which are made fresh to benefit and reap all the goodness.
If you are looking for freshly pressed cold pressed oils do check out Sheva Fresh range of cold pressed oils. You can click on the button below to check out our fabulous collection.
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