Refined sunflower oil: the benefits and harm, caloric content and composition

Vegetable oils are widely used in cooking, not inferior to the leadership of animal oils. For our country and its southern neighbors, the most familiar is the vegetable oil from sunflower seeds. This is due to the favorable climate for growing this plant. In other countries, vegetable oils are made from local Shrovetide products. So, Spain and Greece is famous for the production of oil from olives.

The production of vegetable oils began to develop in the XIX century due to the technological revolution that occurred. Oil mills began to appear in the world, pressing machines were invented, and over time, methods of refining and filtering oils appeared.

Vegetable oils are widely used in home cooking for roasting meat and vegetable products, flour pastries, salads and first courses. In food production, oils are necessary for making margarine, mayonnaise, and any kind of canned food. Due to the complex of vitamins contained in the seeds of plants, vegetable oil is widely used in nutrition, medicine and cosmetology.

Currently, the grocery market vegetable oil is presented in three main types - refined, unrefined, and cheese. In cooking, refined sunflower oil is most in demand. Refining equipment and technology were invented in France and imply maximum oil purification from side components. Thanks to this technology, the oil is called refined, its shelf life is significantly increased, and during heat treatment the product does not emit carcinogens and does not smoke.

The refining of oils involves several stages, each of which can be final. This information is usually contained on the product label. The highest quality refining is obtained by passing through all the stages in the complex.

• Spin seed and filtering. At this stage unrefined oil is obtained, which has a pronounced taste and smell. Keeps in itself all nutritious minerals, approaches for giving of aroma to summer salads. Of the minuses - it does not differ by a long shelf life, burns during frying and gets a bitter taste.

• Hydrating Treatment with hot water, during which protein compounds are separated from the main mass and removed by re-filtration. Oil becomes lighter, acquires a more uniform structure.
• Neutralization. Removal of fatty acids and pesticides under the influence of an alkaline environment and high temperature.
• Whitening Purification of the mass of pigments with activated carbon and high temperatures.
• Freezing. Mixing mass with parts of mountain ore, formed from algae, diatomaceous earth, and aging in negative temperatures (-5-10 degrees). This procedure removes wax particles, making the oil no longer cloudy.
• Deodorization. The final process of cleaning oil from foreign elements. Conducted by exposure to hot steam. The deodorized product is completely odorless.

Refined sunflower oil contains 900 kcal per 100 g of product. The density varies depending on the degree of purification and can range from 904 to 919 kg / m3. This indicator does not affect the quality, but is taken into account when determining the viscosity and fat content of the product. The main share in refined sunflower oil are fats - 99 g per 100 g of product.

At the first spin, sunflower oil contains a complex of vitamins A, groups B, D, E, PP, and elements - iron, sodium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus and calcium. The more intensive the purification of sunflower oil passes, the less micronutrients remain at the exit.

The main importance when choosing an oil is the purpose of its application. Unrefined oil, rich in natural micro and macro elements, is used for filling summer salads - it gives the dish a rich aroma of sunflower, supplements with vitamins vegetables and greens. The use of unrefined product is in demand in medicine and traditional methods of treatment - substances in the composition of the oil are used in the cleaning of internal organs, the treatment of colds.

In turn, refined oils are actively used in cooking and cosmetology. The purified product is odorless, which means it will not change the taste of the dish. When heated, it does not smoke and does not emit side substances - carcinogens. Since all extraneous mixtures are removed from the oil during cleaning, it is optimally suited for people on a diet. In cosmetology, refined oil is added to masks and compresses for hair, skin and nails.

Two types of oil are easily distinguished by color and smell, as well as concentration. Refined oil is always lighter, less oily, it does not smell and has a long shelf life. Unrefined has a denser, viscous structure with natural impurities, rich dark color and strong aroma, its short shelf life, mandatory storage conditions - a dark cool place.

Vegetable oils contain trace elements necessary for the body and fatty acids, however, with an increasing degree of purification, their amount significantly decreases in refined oil. Therefore, to obtain essential vitamins, it is useful to apply unrefined varieties.

The benefit of the refined product is reduced calorie content, which is especially important for diabetics and dieters. The absence of cholesterol and the release of carcinogens when heated is another plus for proper and healthy nutrition.

The optimal daily rate per person is 3 tablespoons. It is especially harmful for diabetics and people with high cholesterol to exceed this rate. A special category of risk includes diseases of the cardiovascular system, biliary tract. For people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as observing any form of diets, it is advisable not to fry foods in sunflower oil, preferring stewed or baked dishes. This is especially true of a combination of vegetable and animal fats during heat treatment. For example, meat fried in a pan gives a tasty ruddy crust, but the crust contains carcinogens.

Having decided on the purpose of use, the following difficulty arises: how to choose the best oil from the whole variety offered. It is considered that private manufacturers have higher product quality than their counterparts. However, with refined oil, the situation is different. Vegetable oils of the highest purification are obtained at technological productions equipped with a variety of special devices. Through them, the mass of seeds goes through all the stages until they come out in a light translucent form. When choosing a store product, it will not be possible to check the goods for smell and taste, but through the transparent material of the bottle it is possible to evaluate its color, transparency, and no sediment.

The label on the bottle will tell you a lot about the informed buyer.

• Carefully read the composition of the product. If on the front side it is stated that sunflower oil, then on the reverse side there should be no additions in the form of other oils. This is usually indicated in small print.
• Words on the label "Without cholesterol", "Vitaminized", "Natural" written solely for the purpose of advertising and does not affect the quality.After all, any sunflower oil initially has all these properties.
• But on the definition of "Frozen", "Cold-pressed" should pay attention. The instructions speak about the production method by cooling or cold pressing, due to which the product retains all the useful substances, but becomes transparent and is stored longer. Refers to unrefined varieties.
• Pay attention to the date of manufacture and shelf life. Most often, products for stocks and discount prices have a shelf life close to completion.
• Choose bottles standing deep in the shelf, in blackout. Do not take goods from open boxes facing the light. Since the oil gradually oxidizes in the open light space and there is no guarantee that it has just been put on the shelf.

The best option would be to select products of well-known manufacturers that have been tested according to the Russian quality system.

Specialists conducted a series of studies of refined sunflower oil, which resulted in a rating of product quality of manufacturers registered in Russia. The requirements established by Roskoschestvo correspond to the current GOST, and in some positions exceed them. During the test, the products were subjected to the following study parameters.

• Lack of carcinogens. The most dangerous of them is benzapiren, which can settle in the soft tissues of the body and provoke malignant tumors. Sunflower this substance gets in connection with the degraded environment (precipitation, exhaust gases from highways). Also, products were tested for the absence of toxic substances - lead, mercury, pesticides.
• Transparency. The color level is determined on a special scale and should not exceed the established units. However, this aspect is rather nominal, since it does not guarantee the absence of violations in other parameters.
• Acidity. Determines the balance in the product of fatty acids:
  1. linoleic - providing the body with vitality;
  2. gondoin - regulating blood sugar levels, strengthens the immune system.

The presence of other acids in the product is also checked.

The study involved more than 60 brands. The rating is made in four nominations (starting from the highest quality).

• Product with a quality mark. The nomination included 11 trademarks, among them “Rossiyanka”, “Sloboda”, “Compound”, “Generous Summer” and others.
• Product of high quality. In the nomination there are 25 titles, among which are “Anninskoe”, “Zateya”, “Zlato”, “Miladora”, “Lenta” and others.

• Quality goods. 14 items, among them - "Don Sloboda", "Golden Seed", "Milora", "Maslenitsa", "South of Russia".
• Item with violation. In this nomination 7 brands are presented, in the composition of the products of which some or other minor errors and deviations from high standards of Roskachestvo were revealed. Among them are the "Golden Standard", "Empire of the Sun", "Kubanochka", "Good."

In the competition for the title of the best product in the TV program “Test Purchase”, sunflower refined oil of the trademarks “Zlato”, “Golden Carnival”, “Ideal”, “Oleina” and “Sloboda” took part. On the results, see below.