Cottonseed oil is cooking oil from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum , that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil. [1]
Cotton seed has a similar structure to other oilseeds, such as sunflower seed, having an oil-bearing kernel surrounded by a hard outer hull; in processing, the oil is extracted from the kernel. Cottonseed oil is used for salad oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and similar products because of its flavor stability. [2]
Its fatty acid profile generally consists of 70% unsaturated fatty acids (18% monounsaturated, and 52% polyunsaturated), 26% saturated fatty acids. [3] When it is fully hydrogenated, its profile is 94% saturated fat and 2% unsaturated fatty acids (1.5% monounsaturated, and 0.5% polyunsaturated). [4] According to the National Cottonseed Products Association, cottonseed oil does not need to be hydrogenated as much as other polyunsaturated oils to achieve similar results. [2]
Gossypol is a toxic, yellow, polyphenolic compound produced by cotton and other members of the order Malvaceae, such as okra. [5] This naturally occurring colored compound is found in tiny glands in the seed, leaf, stem, tap root bark, and root of the cotton plant. The adaptive function of the compound facilitates natural insect resistance. Raw extracts that have not undergone post processing, such as hydrogenation, will also contain the undesirable component cyclopropene fatty acid, but purportedly are mostly removed during refining, particularly deodorization and also hydrogenation. As such, processed/food-grade cottonseed oils are not considered to present a health hazard from cyclopropene fatty acids.[ citation needed ] The three key steps of refining, bleaching, and deodorization in producing finished oil act to eliminate the gossypol level. Ferric chloride is often used to decolorize cotton seed oil. [6]
Type | Processing treatment [9] | Saturated fatty acids | Monounsaturated fatty acids | Polyunsaturated fatty acids | Smoke point | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total [7] | Oleic acid (ω−9) | Total [7] | α-Linolenic acid (ω−3) | Linoleic acid (ω−6) | ω−6:3 ratio | ||||
Avocado [10] | 11.6 | 70.6 | 52–66 [11] | 13.5 | 1 | 12.5 | 12.5:1 | 250 °C (482 °F) [12] | |
Brazil nut [13] | 24.8 | 32.7 | 31.3 | 42.0 | 0.1 | 41.9 | 419:1 | 208 °C (406 °F) [14] | |
Canola [15] | 7.4 | 63.3 | 61.8 | 28.1 | 9.1 | 18.6 | 2:1 | 204 °C (400 °F) [16] | |
Coconut [17] | 82.5 | 6.3 | 6 | 1.7 | 0.019 | 1.68 | 88:1 | 175 °C (347 °F) [14] | |
Corn [18] | 12.9 | 27.6 | 27.3 | 54.7 | 1 | 58 | 58:1 | 232 °C (450 °F) [16] | |
Cottonseed [19] | 25.9 | 17.8 | 19 | 51.9 | 1 | 54 | 54:1 | 216 °C (420 °F) [16] | |
Cottonseed [20] | hydrogenated | 93.6 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.5:1 | ||
Flaxseed/linseed [21] | 9.0 | 18.4 | 18 | 67.8 | 53 | 13 | 0.2:1 | 107 °C (225 °F) | |
Grape seed | 10.4 | 14.8 | 14.3 | 74.9 | 0.15 | 74.7 | very high | 216 °C (421 °F) [22] | |
Hemp seed [23] | 7.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 82.0 | 22.0 | 54.0 | 2.5:1 | 166 °C (330 °F) [24] | |
High-oleic safflower oil [25] | 7.5 | 75.2 | 75.2 | 12.8 | 0 | 12.8 | very high | 212 °C (414 °F) [14] | |
Olive (extra virgin) [26] | 13.8 | 73.0 | 71.3 | 10.5 | 0.7 | 9.8 | 14:1 | 193 °C (380 °F) [14] | |
Palm [27] | 49.3 | 37.0 | 40 | 9.3 | 0.2 | 9.1 | 45.5:1 | 235 °C (455 °F) | |
Palm [28] | hydrogenated | 88.2 | 5.7 | 0 | |||||
Peanut [29] | 16.2 | 57.1 | 55.4 | 19.9 | 0.318 | 19.6 | 61.6:1 | 232 °C (450 °F) [16] | |
Rice bran oil | 25 | 38.4 | 38.4 | 36.6 | 2.2 | 34.4 [30] | 15.6:1 | 232 °C (450 °F) [31] | |
Sesame [32] | 14.2 | 39.7 | 39.3 | 41.7 | 0.3 | 41.3 | 138:1 | ||
Soybean [33] | 15.6 | 22.8 | 22.6 | 57.7 | 7 | 51 | 7.3:1 | 238 °C (460 °F) [16] | |
Soybean [34] | partially hydrogenated | 14.9 | 43.0 | 42.5 | 37.6 | 2.6 | 34.9 | 13.4:1 | |
Sunflower [35] | 8.99 | 63.4 | 62.9 | 20.7 | 0.16 | 20.5 | 128:1 | 227 °C (440 °F) [16] | |
Walnut oil [36] | unrefined | 9.1 | 22.8 | 22.2 | 63.3 | 10.4 | 52.9 | 5:1 | 160 °C (320 °F) [37] |
Once processed, cottonseed oil has a mild taste and appears generally clear with a light golden color, the amount of color depending on the amount of refining. [38] It has a relatively high smoke point as a frying medium. Density ranges from 0.917 to 0.933 g/cm3 (7.65 to 7.79 lb/US gal). [39] Like other long-chain fatty acid oils, cottonseed oil has a smoke point of about 450 °F (232 °C), [5] and is high in tocopherols, which also contribute its stability, giving products that contain it a long shelf life, hence manufacturers' proclivity to use it in packaged goods.
Country | Millions of tonnes |
---|---|
China | 1.28 |
India | 1.20 |
Pakistan | 0.32 |
Brazil | 0.28 |
United States | 0.22 |
Turkey | 0.21 |
World | 4.45 |
In 2019, world production of cottonseed oil was 4.45 million tonnes, led by China and India with 56% combined of the total. [40]
The by-product of cotton processing, cottonseed was considered virtually worthless before the late 19th century. [41] While cotton production expanded throughout the 17th, 18th, and mid-19th centuries, a largely worthless stock of cottonseed grew. Although some of the seed was used for planting, fertilizer, and animal feed, the majority was left to rot or was illegally dumped into rivers. [42]
In the 1820s and 1830s Europe experienced fats and oils shortages due to rapid population expansion during the Industrial Revolution and the after-effects of the British blockade during the Napoleonic Wars. [42] The increased demand for fats and oils, coupled with a decreasing supply caused prices to rise sharply. Consequently, many Europeans could not afford to buy the fats and oils they had used for cooking and for lighting. [41] Many American entrepreneurs tried to take advantage of the increasing European demand for oils and America's increasingly large supply of cottonseed by crushing the seed for oil. But separating the seed hull from the seed meat proved difficult and most of these ventures failed within a few years. [42] This problem was resolved in 1857, when William Fee patented a huller, which effectively separated the tough hulls from the meats of cottonseed. [43] With this new invention, cottonseed oil began to be used for illumination purposes in lamps to supplement increasingly expensive whale oil and lard. [41] But by 1859, this use came to end as the petroleum industry emerged and the American Civil War (and the resulting end of slavery in the United States) disrupted the cotton industry. [41]
Cottonseed oil then began to be used illegally to fortify animal fats and lards. [41] Initially, meat packers secretly added cottonseed oil to the pure fats, but this practice was uncovered in 1884. Armour and Company, an American meatpacking and food processing company, sought to corner the lard market and realized that it had purchased more lard than the existing hog population could have produced. [41] A congressional investigation followed, and legislation was passed that required products fortified with cottonseed oil to be labeled as lard compound." [42] Similarly, cottonseed oil was often blended with olive oil. Once the practice was exposed, many countries put import tariffs on American olive oil and Italy banned the product completely in 1883. [42] Both of these regulatory schemes depressed cottonseed oil sales and exports, once again creating an oversupply of cottonseed oil, which decreased its value. [42]
It was cottonseed's depressed value that led a newly formed Procter & Gamble to utilize its oil. [42] The Panic of 1837 caused the two brothers-in-law to merge their candlestick and soap manufacturing businesses in an effort to minimize costs and weather the bear market. [41] Looking for a replacement for expensive animal fats in production, the brothers finally settled on cottonseed oil. Procter & Gamble cornered the cottonseed oil market to circumvent the meat packer's monopoly on the price. But as electricity emerged, the demand for candles decreased. [42] Procter and Gamble then found an edible use for cottonseed oil. Through patented technology, the brothers were able to hydrogenate cottonseed oil and develop a substance that closely resembled lard. [41] In 1911, Procter & Gamble launched an aggressive marketing campaign to publicize its new product, Crisco, a vegetable shortening that could be used in place of lard. [44] Crisco placed ads in major newspapers advertising that the product was "easier on digestion ... a healthier alternative to cooking with animal fats ... and more economical than butter." [45] The company also gave away free cookbooks, with every recipe calling for Crisco. By the 1920s the company developed cookbooks for specific ethnicities in their native tongues. [45] Additionally, Crisco started airing radio cooking programs. Similarly, in 1899 David Wesson, a food chemist, developed deodorized cottonseed oil, Wesson cooking oil. [42] Wesson Oil also was marketed heavily and became quite popular too.
Over the next 30 years cottonseed oil became the predominant cooking oil in the United States. [41] Crisco and Wesson oil became direct substitutes for lard and other more expensive oils in baking, frying, sautéing, and salad dressings. By World War Two, cottonseed oil shortages forced the utilization of another direct substitute, soybean oil. [41] By 1944, soybean oil production exceeded cottonseed oil production due to cottonseed shortages and soybean oil costs falling below that of cottonseed oil. [41] By 1950, soybean oil replaced cottonseed oil in the use of shortenings like Crisco due to soybeans' comparatively low price. Prices for cottonseed were also increased by the replacement of cotton acreage by corn and soybeans, a trend fueled in large part by the boom in demand for corn syrup and ethanol. [41] Cottonseed oil and production continued to decline throughout the mid- and late 20th century.
In the mid- to late 2000s, the consumer trend of avoiding trans fats, and mandatory labeling of trans fats in some jurisdictions, sparked an increase in the consumption of cottonseed oil, [46] with some health experts [47] : 220 and public health agencies [48] recommending it as a healthy oil. Crisco and other producers have been able to reformulate cottonseed oil so it contains little to no trans fats. [49] Still, some health experts claim that cottonseed oil's high ratio of polyunsaturated fats to monounsaturated fats and processed nature make it unhealthy. [50]
Cottonseed oil in Canada must be pressed from the seed of the Gossypium plant. As a single-source vegetable oil, 100% cottonseed oil must appear as "cottonseed oil" on the labels of any products sold. [51]
Cottonseed oil sold as an edible product must be processed and refined to eliminate specific components that could present as a food safety hazard, in particular gossypol, which can act as a toxin to humans, and can lead to infertility in men. [52]
Cottonseed oil, like other vegetable oils, is extracted from the seed of the plant, through either mechanical processes such as crushing or pressing, [53] or by chemical processes such as solvent extraction. [54] Cottonseed oil is most commonly extracted commercially via solvent extraction. [55]
Cottonseed oil has traditionally been used in foods such as potato chips and was for many years a primary ingredient in Crisco, the shortening product. The current formulation of Crisco is primarily made from soybean oil and palm oil. [56] Significantly less expensive than olive oil or canola oil, cottonseed oil was a popular frying oil for the restaurant and snack-food manufacturing industries. [57]
Cottonseed oil was used in the production of edible food products, such as cooking oils, salad oils, margarines and shortenings. In the United States, cottonseed oil was used in Procter & Gamble's Olestra and Olein products as a type of non-digestible fat substitutes used to create creamy textures and rich flavors in fried foods. [58]
The FDA released its final determination that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs), which include partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in 2015. However, to allow for time for reformulation, the agency extended the compliance date to stop manufacturing foods with these specific, limited petitioned uses of PHOs until June 18, 2019. The final compliance date to allow manufacturers time to reformulate foods and ensure an orderly transition in the marketplace was established as January 1, 2021. Then, on December 22, 2023, the FDA completed final administrative actions on the revocation of uses of PHOs in food. So, it can be said that the GRAS status of cottonseed oil, specifically in its partially hydrogenated form, was effectively lost by January 1, 2021. [59] [60] [61] [62]
For agricultural applications, cottonseed oil generally has the greatest insecticide power among all the vegetable oils. It is traditionally used because of its effectiveness in hard to treat pest problems in fruit trees. Cottonseed oil can also be mixed with other insecticides to provide a broader spectrum and increased control on pests. Spider mites, whiteflies and young stages of scales are common pests that can be controlled using cottonseed oil. [63]
In an agricultural context, the toxicity of untreated cottonseed oil may be considered beneficial: Oils, including vegetable oils, have been used for centuries to control insect and mite pests. [64] More recently, cottonseed oil has been used to protect the trunks of apple trees from the apple clearwing moth, which burrows into the trees' bark, potentially killing them. [65] This oil has been generally considered the most insecticidal of vegetable oils. [64]
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are mixtures of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fats from seeds. Olive oil, palm oil, and rice bran oil are examples of fats from other parts of plants. In common usage, vegetable oil may refer exclusively to vegetable fats which are liquid at room temperature. Vegetable oils are usually edible.
Coconut oil is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around 25 °C (77 °F), and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a distinct coconut aroma. Coconut oil is used as a food oil, and in industrial applications for cosmetics and detergent production. The oil is rich in medium-chain fatty acids.
A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds between the carbon atoms. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms. Along the chain, some carbon atoms are linked by single bonds (-C-C-) and others are linked by double bonds (-C=C-). A double bond along the carbon chain can react with a pair of hydrogen atoms to change into a single -C-C- bond, with each H atom now bonded to one of the two C atoms. Glyceride fats without any carbon chain double bonds are called saturated because they are "saturated with" hydrogen atoms, having no double bonds available to react with more hydrogen.
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil, is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant. The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction.
Hemp oil is oil obtained by pressing hemp seeds. Cold pressed, unrefined hemp oil is dark to clear light green in color, with a nutty flavor. The darker the color, the grassier the flavour. It should not be confused with hash oil, a tetrahydrocannabinol-containing oil made from the Cannabis flower.
Grape seed oil is a vegetable oil derived from the seeds of grapes. Grape seeds are a winemaking by-product, and oil made from the seeds is commonly used as an edible oil.
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, abbreviated with a lipid number of 18:1 cis-9, and a main product of Δ9-desaturase. It has the formula CH3−(CH2)7−CH=CH−(CH2)7−COOH. The name derives from the Latin word oleum, which means oil. It is the most common fatty acid in nature. The salts and esters of oleic acid are called oleates. It is a common component of oils, and thus occurs in many types of food, as well as in soap.
Shortening is any fat that is a solid at room temperature and is used to make crumbly pastry and other food products.
Omega−6 fatty acids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the n−6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from the methyl end.
Crisco is an American brand of shortening that is produced by B&G Foods. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil, originally cottonseed oil. Additional products marketed under the Crisco brand include a cooking spray, various olive oils, and other cooking oils, including canola, corn, peanut, sunflower, and blended oils.
Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called bran. It is known for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir frying and deep frying. It is popular as a cooking oil in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Southern China and Malaysia.
Corn oil or maize oil (British) is oil extracted from the germ of corn (maize). Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil. It is also a key ingredient in some margarines. Corn oil is generally less expensive than most other types of vegetable oils.
Soybean oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean. It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed soybean oil is also used as a base for printing inks and oil paints.
Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient.
In biochemistry and nutrition, a polyunsaturated fat is a fat that contains a polyunsaturated fatty acid, which is a subclass of fatty acid characterized by a backbone with two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Some polyunsaturated fatty acids are essentials. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are precursors to and are derived from polyunsaturated fats, which include drying oils.
Avocado oil is an edible oil extracted from the pulp of avocados, the fruit of Persea americana. It is used as an edible oil both raw and for cooking, where it is noted for its high smoke point. It is also used for lubrication and in cosmetics.
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig. It is distinguished from tallow, a similar product derived from fat of cattle or sheep.
Cooking oil is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing heat, reducing burning and uneven cooking. It sometimes imparts its own flavor. Cooking oil is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips.
Fat hydrogenation is the process of combining unsaturated fat with hydrogen in order to partially or completely convert it into saturated fat. Typically this hydrogenation is done with liquid vegetable oils resulting in solid or semi-solid fats.
Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, it was restricted as a food oil due to its content of erucic acid, which in laboratory studies was shown to be damaging to the cardiac muscle of laboratory animals in high quantities and which imparts a bitter taste, and glucosinolates, which made many parts of the plant less nutritious in animal feed. Rapeseed oil from standard cultivars can contain up to 54% erucic acid.