Corn oil is an industrial seed oil that’s constituted of the seed (or kernel) of corn.
Just like the vegetable (or grain, relying on when it’s harvested), corn oil has a golden yellow hue. Some say corn oil has a slight buttery taste, however for essentially the most half, it’s very impartial. This makes it a preferred selection in packaged and processed items.
There’s lots of processing concerned to make corn oil. Sometimes, the oil is mechanically and/or chemically extracted after which refined (e.g. utilizing a solvent like hexane), in keeping with holistic registered dietitian Michelle Shapiro, RD of Michelle Shapiro Diet LLC.
“Throughout mechanical (bodily) extraction, the germ part is separated from the kernel in the course of the milling course of to provide flour. The leftover germ is dried after which pressed utilizing a hydraulic or screw press (i.e. “expeller-pressed”), to yield the liquid oil portion. To isolate the oil from bodily contaminants, the product is washed with a chemical solvent, normally, hexane, which is evaporated to yield the oil itself,” she says.
After the bodily extraction comes a chemical refining course of. The aim right here is to take away any undesirable contaminants that negatively have an effect on style, odor, shelf-life and/or smoke level (amongst different issues). Shapiro explains that chemical refining entails six primary steps1: degumming, neutralization, washing/drying, bleaching, dewaxing, and deodorizing.
All this processing comes with a serious draw back. “Although the aim of the extraction and refining course of is to take away undesirable compounds from the oil, it could additionally take away fascinating compounds comparable to sure nutritional vitamins or antioxidants,” Shapiro says.
A few of these compounds might embrace helpful fatty acids and antioxidant-rich coloration pigments.
Since corn oil has a excessive smoke level (450 levels Fahrenheit2), it’s incessantly utilized in cooking and frying. “It’s possible you’ll discover it in salad oils, frying oils, margarine, or meals containing these elements,” Shapiro says.
