Commonly used household refined oils
In India, since time immemorial, there has been a myriad of oils which has found its way in different households. Traditionally we used to prefer pure oils for our usage. In the southern part of the country Coconut oil is prevalent, in the Northern and eastern part of the country, Mustard oil is more in use and in the western regions, Groundnut oil is commonly used. But in recent times, refined oil or blended oils has found its way more into the households of every common Indian. They are odourless and colourless oil which is produced mechanically with many chemicals. Here is a list of commonly used household refined oils for everyday use.
Sunflower Oil
This oil is extracted from the seeds of sunflowers. It has a high quantity of vitamin E, thus making it to be a primary product for being used in cosmetic products. Sunflower oil contains a mixture of monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids. It has a high smoking point that can actually hold onto its nutritional content at higher temperatures. This is the reason as to why this oil is widely used in deep frying chips, samosas and vegetables.
Rice Bran Oil
This oil is fairly new in respect to other refined oils widely in use. Rice bran oil is made from the outer layer (bran) of the grain of rice. Health experts claim that it’s the healthiest oil on the planet while some others differ on this point. They argue that the method used to produce this oil might be unhealthy. It is widely used in making cookies and cakes. Since it has a high smoking point, it works well for deep frying chips and all.
Soybean Oil
Soybean oil is a vegetable oil which is extracted from the seeds of the soybean. It has the highest popularity when it comes to cooking oils. It is also known as a drying oil, and can be used as a base for printing inks and oil paints. To produce soybean oil, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, heated between 60 and 88 °C rolled into flakes, and solvent-extracted with hexanes. Then it goes through a complex process of refinement, which is blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated. They are sold as vegetable oils and are a chief ingredient in a wide variety of processed foods. Most of the remaining residue after the extraction process is used as animal feed.
Palm Oil
It is an edible vegetable oil which is derived from the mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palms, primarily the African oil palm. It is naturally red in colour because of a high beta-carotene content. The differences are palm kernel oil and raw palm is in its colour, one is red while the other is not. However, crude red palm oil that has been refined, bleached and deodorized, called RBD palm oil, does not contain carotenoids. This oil is commonly used in households, but there is a demand to stop using this oil as palm is a rare fruit.
In the 90s there was a lot hue and cry that pure oils should be banned and refined oils were introduced as a healthy alternative for heart diseases and other health-related problems. Buy off late, in recent times it has been proven with extensive research that refined oil dangerous for health than it is beneficial. So be careful before choosing which oil you use in your household.
