Preparation of vegetable oils and fats

Introduction

vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials extracted from oil seeds and nuts. They are used primarily as cooking oil, frying oils and fats, and the preparation of margarines and shortenings.

fat extraction and vegetable oil is made first by pressure, then if necessary with a solvent. Some seeds are handled directly by the solvent, without prior extraction by pressure. Called virgin vegetable oils are derived exclusively by pressure without the use of any chemical process.

major oil seeds and nuts for food use are: olive (olive fruit), the fruit of oil palm, groundnuts, sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, cotton, copra and sesame. The content of these materials in oil is shown in the following table:

This document is devoted primarily to presentation of the preparation technology of vegetable oils extracted from oilseeds, and this raw material to finished product. The extraction of oil from nuts, mainly olive oil, is addressed in another document.

Content:

This document, which deals with the technology of preparation of vegetable fats or oils, is composed of the following sections: