[kavensri]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

There weren't many cold pressed groundnut oils online. So bought a 1L bottle initially from Puvi and it was good. Has the perfect groundnut aroma. Also, CP oil retains its natural color on heating. Have seen saffola turn reddish when over-heated or post deep frying.

What I meant when i wrote multiple brands is, not specific to Amazon/FK. But, in general in the market.
Anyway, thank you so much for your inputs. I went ahead and ordered 1l bottle from Amazon. Thanks again.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

How do they manage to sell the "refined" sunflower oil at Rs 90/100 per litre when the wholesale price of sunflower seed is atleast Rs 90 per Kg and with 3 Kg of Sunflower seed needed to make 1 litre oil, the price should be atleast Rs 350 per liter of Sunflower oil ? The math doesn't add up. This thought has been lingering during the last couple of years after a colleague mentioned that all refined oils are mostly petroleum/mineral oils that are refined to convert it to edible grade oil.

I now strongly believe that atleast in India, we unsuspecting consumers are being conned and sold edible grade mineral oil in the name of "refined" sunflower oil.
Link to one of the sources
Unfortunately, we have such lax and unregulated rules that it is so easy to deceive people and get away with it.

Sorry noticed this only today. The link you have provided is not opening. But I am very confident there is no such thing as edible mineral oil. The only one that can be consumed by humans is liquid paraffin, that too as a laxative.

We should not look at the wholesale market price of sunflower seeds, but at the procurement price by wholesalers from the farmers. As a thumb rule I can say that will be about half their selling price in the market. So if they sell at Rs 90, rest assured they won't pay more than Rs 45 to the farmer. And the branded oil companies will not buy from the wholesale market, but directly from farmers. They might even import at a cheaper price.

I have read a kilo of seed may produce roughly 450 grams of oil if the extraction methods are very efficient. And the remaining oil cake after extraction is not a waste, but will sell for at least Rs 20 per kg as cattle feed.

I am no oil processing engineer, but did a bit of research, and checked with a few people in the trade. And the arithmetic seems to add up!

[Miyata]

The news is that "soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, and depression."

the team notes the findings only apply to soybean oil -- not to other soy products or to other vegetable oils.

"If there's one message I want people to take away, it's this: reduce consumption of soybean oil," Deol said about the most recent study.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by kavensri

What I meant when i wrote multiple brands is, not specific to Amazon/FK. But, in general in the market.

I have seen this shop while going towards Vidyapeetha side near Banashankari - https://saptham.com/shop/cold-presse...l-100-natural/
Have not purchased from them as yet, but will try it out one of these days.

[DCEite]

Guys,

How good or bad is Palm oil ?

From packaged goods (even Haldiram's namkeen uses it) to Multi national pizza joints, all use this oil.

Its one thing that palm oil is extremely cost effective for these organisations, but what about the health effects of using Palm oil ? There seem to be very little information available on this.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

I have seen this shop while going towards Vidyapeetha side near Banashankari - https://saptham.com/shop/cold-presse...l-100-natural/
Have not purchased from them as yet, but will try it out one of these days.

Since my last post in this thread, lot of things have changed for me
I found one reliable local source (through one of my old friend) from where I can order some of these stuff. The cost is less than 50% of what these branded ones are quoting. It is locally made in a farm land owned by couple of guys in Hosur (my friend is also one of the partner there). So, I know the material used and also the process involved. My friend has been using this since last one year and his friend has been using it since more than 3 years now.

So, first thing I did was to cancel my Amazon order and then procured 5L can from this source. I am yet to start using it though.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Its one thing that palm oil is extremely cost effective for these organisations, but what about the health effects of using Palm oil ? There seem to be very little information available on this.

Being cost effective is the primary reason for its widespread use.
There are a lot of links online covering its health aspects especially links from Harvard Medical School, Standford, or John Hopkins etc. The oil is no better than other tropical oils, say, coconut.

It, however, is said to have disastrous ethical and environmental affects. Allegedly Amazon rain forests and other forests are being cut down to clear area for palm oil plantations on accord of high demands from the FMCGs.
The decision is split as of now, as some studies also say that only existing farmlands are being leveraged.
Health wise: It is a decent oil.

[jayded]

Have been using cold-pressed oils for everyday use for the past couple of years. We buy our oils from Gramiyum, which is a Chennai based firm which sells organic stuff online. All their products that we've tried have been really good so far and we are extremely satisfied with the quality and overall interaction with the team.

https://www.gramiyum.in/

P.S: I have no affiliation, but a happy regular customer for over 2 years now. Would recommend them any day.

[condor]

Folks in Navi Mumbai - where do we get cold-pressed oil (peanut, safflower) ?

Also looking for Safflower oil, again in Navi Mumbai. If not available locally, then online source please.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by condor

Folks in Navi Mumbai - where do we get cold-pressed oil (peanut, safflower) ?

Also looking for Safflower oil, again in Navi Mumbai. If not available locally, then online source please.

https://indicwisdom.com/store/

https://www.rajkamaloilmill.com/

At my home in Mumbai, my folks bought from both sources. Rajkamal is more reasonably priced and may fit your requirements.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by condor

Folks in Navi Mumbai - where do we get cold-pressed oil (peanut, safflower) ?

Also looking for Safflower oil, again in Navi Mumbai. If not available locally, then online source please.

Lakdi Ghana (http://www.woodenchurner.com) is one popular cold pressed oil in Pune. I am not sure if it would be available easily in Mumbai since I have not found it in local shops or departmental stores. From my experience of using safflower and groundnut oil from Lakdi Ghana, both have slightly muddy look instead of being clear and are quite pungent in smell and taste. This is compared to Dhara which itself is quite pungent compared to other refined oils.

[condor]

@hrman & Sameer, thank you

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

From my experience of using safflower and groundnut oil from Lakdi Ghana, both have slightly muddy look instead of being clear and are quite pungent in smell and taste.

I believe that would be because of not being filtered like the companies do. More native content.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by condor

I believe that would be because of not being filtered like the companies do. More native content.

True. I too like to believe it is the more natural process which gives peculiar flavour and texture to oil. But I found cold-pressed safflower oil to be a bit too much for my taste. On the other hand, this makes me wary of those oils with cold-pressed claims but having clear look and neutral taste. I don't think both can go hand in hand.

[condor]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

On the other hand, this makes me wary of those oils with cold-pressed claims but having clear look and neutral taste. I don't think both can go hand in hand.

From what I know, after extraction, the oil must be left for about 15 days to settle down. The upper layers of the oil then are a little more clear.

[BoneCollector]

Wow, what a time to visit this thread and how did I miss it earlier.

As far as I remember, we have been using mustard oil for most of the things. About 30 years back, vanaspati ghee was marketed and used by us also. But we stopped using it after the so called refined oils came into picture, earliest one I recall being Postman. Dad underwent Cardiac Bypass surgery in 1995 and his Cardiologist as well as Surgeon advised him only mustard oil. We still used refined for ourselves for puris and parathas except for him. But since last 6 months, we have entirely switched over to mustard oil and home made ghee. And with this change, we have noticed a drastic reduction in our digestive system issues. All the while, we have used mustard oil and now everything is mustard oil made. Sweets and halwa etc are made in ghee, no refined at all.