What are all the vegetable oils?

Written by Tena Moore (- if this post appears on any site other than Vitaminstuff.com it has been stolen)


The main edible vegetables oils that are used in cooking and biodiesel production are, in alphabetical order: coconut oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, palm oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil. If you’re wondering why I haven’t included canola oil, one of the United States main cash crops, the reason is because it is a type of rapeseed oil.

Not all vegetable oils are edible. Castor oil, tung oil and linseed oil are oils made from vegetables that are inedible and used instead in paints, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, to name a few uses.

There are many, many other edible oils made from nuts, fruits and other plants, such as apricot oil, avocado oil, pine nut oil, cocoa butter (oil made from the cacao plant), almond oil, walnut oil, cashew oil, pecan oil, pistachio oil, hazelnut oil, macadamia nut oil, and flaxseed oil.

Other less popular edible oils are artichoke oil, babassu oil, ben oil, coriander seed oil, hemp oil, mustard oil, papaya seed oil, okra seed oil, perilla seed oil, pequi oil, poppyseed oil, prune kernel oil, quinoa oil, ramtil oil, rice bran oil, tea oil, thistle oil, tomato seed oil, and wheat germ oil.

There are, no doubt, other oils in other countries and little known oils that have not been included here.

What are Vegetable Oils?

Vegetable oils are oils that are extracted from a wide variety of vegetables, nuts and plant sources. Oils are liquid at room temperature and depending on their melting point, can be used for baking, frying, or even alone as a sauce or dressing.

Cold-pressed oils are those that are not processed using heat and are the most vitamin and mineral rich. Cold-pressed olive oil is extremely healthy. There are too many vegetable oils to list here, but some are: canola oil, olive oil, almond oil, walnut oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, etc.