Is Cold-pressed Oils Better Than Refined Oils?

You too occasionally ask yourself when it would be better to use an oil obtained by cold pressing and when a refined oil instead? Would you like to know exactly what the difference between cold-pressed oils and refined oil? So, let's get started.

How are vegetable oils extracted?

The extraction of vegetable oils, both in the case of seed oils and in the case of olive oil or other fruits, can mainly take place in two ways:

• through the mechanical processes at temperatures that keep the characteristics of the oil unaltered, cold pressing, or
• with refining by processes that involve the use of chemical process and physical transformations of oil.

The differences between the both methods (Cold pressed and refined) of extraction of vegetable oils

The necessary premise to understand the impact of the different extraction methods is the following: the seeds and fruits from which the vegetable oils are extracted are rich in nutrients that are very important for our health: minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids, amino acids, fibres, flavonoids, phytosterols and other micronutrients.

 To guarantee a healthy and balanced diet it is important that in our diet there are vegetable oils obtained from seeds, cereals, legumes. The important thing is that they are cold-pressed and unrefined vegetable oils from industrial processes. 

Using the refining processes, on the other hand, most of the vitamins and minerals, phytosterols, and other useful micronutrients are eliminated. In most cases, part of the essential fatty acids is also altered, with the consequent creation of molecules harmful to our body (the famous "trans" fatty acids).

Because most of the vegetable oils on the market are refined

Extracting the oil from the seeds with mechanical procedures is much more difficult, and therefore more expensive, than with refining.

Cold-pressed extraction of vegetable oils

Fortunately, many vegetable oil manufacturers still use cold-pressed extraction process for extracting oils by keeping in mind their purity level. Thanks to Aceso for cold-pressed oils we can enjoy the benefits of many cold-pressed vegetable oils naturally with great nutritional value. With the use of Aceso cold-pressed vegetable oils in the kitchen there are numerous advantages for maintaining a state of health:

• It is useful in protecting the blood vessels that remain more elastic and permeable,
• It is considered best for antioxidant and counteracting action of free radicals,
• It improves the functioning of the gall bladder,
• The action of counteracting excess cholesterol etc.

 What kind of oil is particularly useful?

To choose the "right" type of oil, it is necessary to consider various aspects related to technique, health and taste. There are vegetable oils that are better suited than others to certain dishes or cooking methods. Furthermore, some oils are considered to be healthier than others. Much also depends on the taste notes you want to add to the dish or personal preference.

What kind of oil do you use, the most refined oil or cold-pressed?

According to the production process with which they are obtained, cold-pressed and refined oils are distinguished. The oils obtained from cold pressing are mechanically pressed and do not undergo subsequent treatments. The characteristic taste, smell and color remain unchanged.

Cold pressed oils are not heat resistant and therefore should not be heated. Furthermore, they do not have a long shelf life, as fatty acids are more "delicate" and tend to deteriorate rapidly. In addition, cold-pressed oils are more expensive and you only need to heat the product to lose the benefits of costly production.

In the case of refining, after squeezing the oil undergoes deacidification, discoloration and deodorization treatments. In this way, various substances contained in the oils, such as vitamins and secondary metabolites, are reduced or completely eliminated. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids is almost the same both in refined oils and in those obtained by cold pressing. Refined oil has a longer shelf life, is heat resistant and colourless, as well as having a neutral flavor. The choice of the type of oil therefore depends on your needs.

Which taste is better?

The type of production also plays an important role in terms of taste. The oils obtained with cold pressing retain their flavor, often very intense, with bitter or nutty notes. If you want to enrich a dish by adding this typical flavor, oils obtained from cold pressing are an optimal choice. If, on the other hand, you prefer an oil with a more neutral taste, to fully enhance the flavor of the dish, the choice should fall on a refined product.

What kind of oil is particularly healthy?

It is advisable to use vegetable oils with a good composition of fatty acids (with many unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids), such as rapeseed oil (cold pressed), walnut or wheat germ oil. However, these are only suitable if added cold.

For best cold pressed vegetable oil options, you can use cold-pressed almond oil, walnut oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, etc. They are healthy for us and they have no side effects.

Cold-pressed vegetable oils to choose?

We must choose the best oil for us as long as it is organic and cold pressed. The ideal is to consume the largest possible variety of Aceso cold-pressed cooking oils in rotation, alternating them.

There are numerous cold-pressed vegetable oils available to us to safeguard health: we can choose any of them according to the health properties and the body requirements.

You can buy cold-pressed walnut oil, cold-pressed moringa oil or apricot oil etc. For more information regarding Aceso cold-pressed oils and its benefits, you can contact us freely.