Vegetable oil - is it creamy or sunflower? What are vegetable oils?

Until recently, when you visited the store, you could buy any product and be sure of its quality, or at least that you bought exactly what you wanted. But today literally each of us can easily miss - you buy one, and you read the line-up, and you begin to understand that you slipped something completely different. A vivid example of this, which every hostess must have come across, is butter. "So this is what, vegetable?" - the thought flashes when on the back of a square pack of "creamy" you read the small letters of the composition. Well, it turns out that our favorite creamy (in appearance) oil today may well be vegetable.

Let's understand all the wisdoms that generous producers give us generously. At last we will find out, vegetable oil is creamy or sunflower, than they differ and which of them is more useful. And, of course, it will not do without small tricks: can it be replaced with vegetable oil, if it was not at home, and you are already busy with preparing the test?

Vegetable oil

All the oils that belong to the plant are made from plant seeds and nothing else. We, perhaps, the most popular vegetable oil - it's sunflower, followed by olive, corn, linseed, pumpkin, and so the list can continue almost indefinitely.

How is oil obtained from plants?

• Cold pressing - the crushed seeds are squeezed out by the press. The liquid that forms as a result is the same oil that we use.
• Hot pressing - the seeds are ground, heated to a temperature of 100 degrees, and only then sent under the press. Under the influence of temperature, the seeds are more active in releasing fat, which means that the oils will also be produced more.
• Extraction is perhaps the most unhelpful way for health. Any fat, vegetable , including, you can easily dissolve with gasoline. It is they who are poured seeds, and after they give all their juices, they begin to evaporate gasoline. As a result, it burns and only oil remains.

Refined or not, what's the difference?

After the oil is received, it passes several treatment regimes:

• Unrefined oil is a product that has been filtered from all kinds of impurities. It has a thicker, more saturated consistency and color. If such oil is stored for a long time, a light precipitate will appear on the bottom. This oil is not particularly suitable for frying, but it's better to fill them with cold dishes and salads.
• Refined vegetable oil is a product that passed not only the filter but also a number of other additional cleanings. This oil does not foam when fried, has no pronounced taste or smell, and is much better kept. From it make margarine, mayonnaise, use in conservation and cooking. Refined oils are devoid of taste and smell, and their smoking temperature is almost twice as high. Use them is much more convenient.

The Benefits of Vegetable Oils for Us

In order to talk about the benefits of each particular species, it is also necessary to take into account the plant from which it was obtained. After all, each of them gives oil only to him with inherent vitamins and beneficial substances. Let's think, our vegetable oil - is this: sunflower, peanut or soybean? So, olive, for example, can lower cholesterol, pumpkin and flax are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and corn contains twice as much vitamin E as sunflower. But all these oils, regardless of their origin, combine a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in them. It is they who take an active part in creating new cells, which means they are very useful for our youth and health in general.

Butter and spread oil

The real butter is obtained from cream, collected from the surface of the milk and knocked down. That is, they are obtained from products of animal origin. Today, manufacturers often add vegetable oil to the composition of such a product. It's creamy or sunflower, you ask? Here it all depends on the composition. But remember, never this butter can be cheap. If you have noticed such strangeness in the cost, then carefully read the composition. For certain it will be indicated the addition of vegetable fats. According to GOST, since 2004, all producers are obliged to call such products not "butter", but "creamy product" or "spread". Such oil is creamy-vegetable, but the percentage of both components should be indicated on the packaging and can differ significantly.

What is the difference between spreads?

The advantages of this oil include its soft and supple structure. It does not freeze in the cold and is easily spread on bread due to the fact that it contains vegetable oil. Is it creamy or sunflower? Rather, it is a mixture of two types: vegetable and animal fats. It will be very good if the producer adds sunflower oil to such a product, then you can not worry about your health again. But there are those who try to save money on production and at the same time to increase sales amounts. That's when the vegetable fat, well known in cosmetology, is in action, it's palm oil. This product is cheap and has similar qualities with butter made from pure cream - it hardens when cooled. It is convenient to use it as a substitute for animal fat, it is only necessary to add a little taste and aroma. There will be no particular harm from such a substitution, but also benefits. Therefore, standing in front of the store counter, think, to whom is this "accessibility" more profitable, to the manufacturer or to you? On health, it's better not to save again, because even buying margarine or a spread for baking, try not to take the cheapest.

Can I replace butter with vegetable?

This question was probably raised by every hostess. At the most crucial moment, you open the refrigerator, and the butter is over! Really have to give up baking, because she planned the same? In fact, you can quite help out the vegetable oil. This creamy sins high in cholesterol, but in vegetable it is not, because such a fusion will be very good. On the palatability it does not affect at all, because the usual refined has neither taste nor smell, but at the same time it is fat, albeit vegetable. You just need to remember that you need to add a little less vegetable oil than indicated in your favorite recipe. For example, a pack of creamy, weighing 220 grams, you need to replace ¾ cup of vegetable oil.

On the correct use, or How not to harm

Now you know a little more about what vegetable oil is - cream or sunflower, than it is useful and how it is produced. But there is one more factor by which such oil can serve evil service, and it is not necessary to forget about it. This is the correct adherence to the cooking temperature. Each type of fat has its own specific heating point. If you pour oil over and above, it can form carcinogens that get into food. Determine this point is simple enough - if the oil in the frying pan started to smoke or burn, then you obviously overheated it, and it is better not to use it for food. For roasting products at high temperatures (for a wok pan, for example), it is better to choose special oils, with a high level of smoke.

By the way, butter begins to smoke already at a temperature of 170 degrees, but refined corn, sunflower and palm oil only at 232. Unrefined oils are always better to use for salads or sauces, they do not fit for frying. And also do not forget that the longer your dish is heat treated, the more it loses vitamins and benefits for your body.

We hope that this information will be helpful. Let the culinary creativity bring you pleasure and give new unexpected discoveries. Cook delicious and useful!