What Do "Cold Pressed" And "Unrefined" Really Mean?

The realm of cooking oils is a wonderfully diverse one and maybe that's one of the reasons cooking is just a wonderful activity! With the array of oils that you can saute, fry, and cook your food in it's barely surprising that we have a plethora of flavors available. And in particular with Indian cooking, you can always count on the flavor of new oil to seep in as you travel through the length and breadth of the country. We've got different types of oils that are used in our cuisine coconut, sesame, mustard, soybean, groundnut, sunflower all of which come in packets of different shapes and sizes.

As you're browsing through the large selection of oils at the grocery store, it's not common to come across terms like 'unrefined' and 'cold pressed'. So what do these terms mean? Well, for starters, let's understand what the traditionally 'refined' oils mean. Oil as you see in bottles often goes through a long process of extraction, most of which utilizes heat to "soften" the oil. However, the use of this heat has some negative properties as well as leads to the breakdown of the natural flavors and nutrients that the oil may have originally processed. And not just that, the process of refining involves the addition of chemical solvents as well. You might have observed some wonderful smelling oil- that smells nothing like what the actual ingredient is supposed to! Well, these oils have been "deodorized".

So, unrefined means those oils that retain their original flavors and tastes because they are left in their pure state. There have been no chemicals added to them to give them artificial aromas. Cold-pressed oil- refers to oil that has been extracted simply mechanically without the usage of high levels of heat. The resulting oil ends up being rich in flavor, vitamins, and other significant nutrients that you might've missed out on with 'refined' oil! So, the next time you're shopping make sure you make a mindful purchase; ensuring that what you put in your body is good for you!