When it comes to food, natural and organic are what is preferred universally. Researchers, nutritionists and even doctors recommend we add fresh and natural foods to our diet and skip out on processed foods. However, whenever fresh or organic comes to our mind, we only think about fresh fruits and vegetables. We tend to forget that even the oil we add to our food should be healthy. But how can we tell which oil is good for us? That is where cold-pressed oil comes to our rescue. Refined oil may undergo actions from unwanted chemicals whereas cold-pressed oil comes from an all-natural process, making it healthier and safer to use!
Also Read: Guide to Cold Pressed Oils: Would You Replace Them With Cooking Oils?
What Is Cold Pressing?
Often associated with oil, cold pressing refers to the process of extracting oil from the desired food. Cold pressing is any physical process in which the essential oil glands of an ingredient are crushed to release the oil. Earlier, cold pressing was carried by hand but ever since the commercial demands for cold-pressed oils have increased, the entire process has been mechanised. As the cold pressing process involves no added preservatives and only uses fresh ingredients, the shelf life of the oils is relatively short.
Nowadays, cold-pressed oils are obtained by pressing fruit or seeds with a modern steel press. It is a slow process of crushing that extracts oil. Low heat is generated during the crushing which helps retain the nutrients.
Also Read: 8 Great Benefits of Almond Oil for Hair, Face and Skin
How Is Nut Oil Extracted Through Cold Press Process?
A post shared by Amar Sirohi (@foodie_incarnate)
As you can see above, the video shows how almonds are cold-pressed to give almond oil. 17 kilograms of almonds are slow-pressed for a long time till the almonds are a fine powder. Then, roughly a litre of fresh water is poured into the powder to start the emulsification process. After rigorous pressing for a few hours, the 17 kilograms of almonds turn into 6 litres of freshly extracted almond oil; the oil is filtered and then bottled for consumption.
The video was uploaded by food blogger @foodie_incarnate on Instagram and it has 120k views as well as 14k likes.
What did you think of this entire process? Do tell us in the comments section below!
