Sunflower Oil: Cook with a Spoonful of Sunshine
Sunflower seed oil is one of the healthiest of oils available for cooking. It is light golden-yellow in colour and does not have a distinct flavour or taste, thus making it versatile for any type of cuisine. It is relatively heat stable and can withstand frying temperatures. Fried Indian sweets like boondi laddu, atrisam, jalebi, and gulab jamun are best made with sunflower oil.
Our organic sunflowers are grown by Mahesh and his family, in Bedharahalli (Karnataka).
The oil is made using a rotary cold press method, similar to the traditional the ‘ghanis’. No heat is applied. Raw seeds are ground into a paste and pressed with a heavy stone mill, to expel the oil. This is the first-pressed oil, without any additives. Sunflower oil has no odour or taste.
Cold-pressed oils have all their nutrients intact, unlike refined oil. As a result, cold pressed oils appear a little cloudy. The cake that remains after sunflower oil extraction is used as livestock feed.
Helianthus annus is the scientific name of sunflower (surajmukhi in Hindi, suryakanti in Tamil, Telugu) grows best in fertile, wet, well-drained soil with a lot of mulch.
The sunflower head is a cluster of thousands of florets on a modified flat stem. The outer florets have large yellow petals and are sterile. The inside florets are arranged in a spiral pattern on a disc and these develop into seeds. Sunflower seeds are miracle food packed with healthy minerals and vitamins. They are also used to produce bio diesel. The sunflower head is a geometric marvel as the seeds are arranged in a logarithmic spiral reflecting the Fibonacci numbers on it.
Organic cold pressed sunflower oil is known to effectively cut down cholesterol due to the combination of fatty acids found in it. It is a great source of linoliec acid, which cannot be synthesised by the human body.
Sunflower oil is mainly a triglyceride and has a large amount of polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. The composition is as follows:
- Palmitic acid (saturated): 5%
- Stearic acid (saturated): 6%,
- Oleic acid (monounsaturated omega 9): 30%
- Linoleic acid (polyunsaturated omega 6): 59%
It also has high amounts of Vitamin E which benefits your skin. It has the ability to enhance energy and immunity levels, improve your skin health, avert cancer, bring down cholesterol, give relief in arthritis and guard against asthma.
Sunflower, the flower that always faces the sun, stands for positivity, loyalty, constancy and adoration. For farmers, it is symbolic of bounty and harvest. Vincent van Gogh painted an entire series on sunflowers to depict the whims and fancies of time.
Most lemon pickles are made with sunflower oil. Sweet and sour lemon pickle makes a terrific accompaniment to parathas or pulaos. You must try this recipe. You will find more recipes in the Recipe section.