Back in 1829, a certain peasant from the Voronezh province invented a method for producing oil from sunflower seeds. The church then ranked the new product among a number of lean. At that time, people did not even realize that about two hundred years would pass and that sunflower oil would become so popular that its reserves would be in almost every house. Cooking something in a frying pan or trying a recipe for a new salad, we do not think about this unique product. The time has come to fill the gaps in knowledge.
How to make sunflower oil
The manufacturing technology of this product is quite simple: first, the seeds are cleaned in the quill-vein compartment, where the kernels are separated from the husk. Then the cores go to the rollers, which are crushed into mint. The latter undergoes heat treatment in the braziers, and then enters the compartment with a press. There, press sunflower oil is obtained from it, which still needs to be filtered, and the remaining press goes to the extraction workshop, in which about 20% additional product is obtained from it. In order for the resulting sunflower oil to take on a familiar form, it subsequently goes through the process of cleaning and refining, for which methods such as centrifugation, sedimentation, hydration, bleaching, deodorization and freezing are used.
Structure
Depending on what stages of processing and extraction the final product went through, this or that percentage of vitamins, fatty acids, phospholipids and other substances is obtained. From what proportions it contains palmitic, arachinic, linoleic, stearic, oleic and myristic acids, phosphorus-containing, waxy and volatile substances, as well as vitamins A, D, E, the useful qualities that sunflower oil directly depend on. GOST R 52465-2005 defines the exact criteria for the first grade, but we will not go into details. We only note how the main types of sunflower oil differ and why they are better suited.
Product varieties
The most useful is considered to be raw sunflower oil, which is obtained after the first extraction and subsequent filtration. It has a pleasant smell and taste, and stearins, phosphatides, tocopherols and other useful components are completely preserved in its composition. If it persists long enough, then it begins to become cloudy and bitter. It is best used for salads and cold dishes. Hydrated sunflower oil is obtained by heating to 60 ° C and passing hot sprayed water through it . As a result of this procedure, protein and mucous substances remain in the sediment, and the product ceases to cloud. At the same time, this process leads to a weakening of smell and taste and less intense coloring. Refined oil is obtained by treating the product with alkali, as a result of which fatty acids and phospholipids are removed from it. It is clear that there will be even less benefit from it, but it is considered an excellent choice for stewing and frying. For the preparation of dietary products and baby food, refined oil that has undergone the deodorization process is used. It has almost no aromatic substances, which contributes to its long storage. Finally, there is still frozen oil. It removes all wax-like substances, which makes it transparent and ceases to cloud when cooled. As it is easy to notice, to say that this or that species is the best sunflower oil is impossible. It all depends on what and how it will be used.