'''Vegetable oil''' or
vegoil is
fat extracted from plant sources. Although in principle other parts of plants may yield oil, in practice
seeds form the almost exclusive source. Vegetable oils are used as
cooking oils and for industrial uses. Some types, such as
rapeseed oil,
cottonseed oil, or
castor oil, are not fit for
human consumption without further processing.
Like all fats, vegetable oils are
esters of
glycerin and a varying blend of
fatty acids, and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.
Sources
Common sources of vegetable oil include:
Oilseeds:
Other vegetable oils:
According to the USDA, the total world consumption of major vegetable oils in 2000 was:
| Soybeans |
26.0 million tonnes (MMT) |
| Palm | 23.3 MMT |
| Rapeseed | 13.1 MMT |
| Sunflowerseed | 8.6 MMT |
| Peanut | 4.2 MMT |
| Cottonseed | 3.6 MMT |
| Palm Kernel | 2.7 MMT |
| Olive | 2.5 MMT |
Note that these figures include industrial and animal feed use. Palm oil, which is solid at room temperature, is used mainly to produce soaps and cosmetics. The majority of European rapeseed oil production is used to produce
biodiesel, or used directly as fuel in
diesel cars which are modified to handle the higher
viscosity.
- One can use the "modern" way of processing oil by chemical extraction, using solvent extracts, which produces higher yields and is quicker and less expensive. The most common solvent is petroleum-derived hexane, more commonly known as petroleum ether.
- Another way is the "physical extraction", that does not use solvent extracts. It is made the "old" way by several different types of mechanical extraction. This method is frequently used to produce cooking oil, since it is preferred by most customers (at least in Europe). Expeller-pressed extraction is one type. There are two other types that are both oil presses. The screw press and the ram press.
See also
External links
Category:Cooking oils
af:Plantaardige olie
de:Pflanzenöl
es:Aceite vegetal
it:Olio vegetale
lt:Augalinis aliejus
nl:Plantaardige olie
pl:Olej roślinny
simple:Vegetable oil
sv:Matolja