WHAT IS AVOCADO OIL?
Ever had the mouth-watering pleasure of eating an avocado? Avocado oil does wonders in your kitchen. Due to its rich content of antioxidants and healthy fat — this oil has numerous benefits. This essential oil has a high smoke point, making it an excellent choice amongst cooking oils. The applications of avocado oil are limitless. They are one of the few fruits that contains healthy unsaturated fats.
WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF AVOCADO OIL?
The earliest records of the existence of avocados date back to Mexico to approximately 10,000 BC. Avocado oil is a relatively new invention. The first mention of this oil was in 1918, where the literature first mentioned oil extraction. Early methods of avocado extraction involved drying the fruit did not produce significant quantities of avocado oil.
WHICH COUNTRIES PRODUCE AVOCADO OIL?
New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, South Africa and the United States are the main producers of avocado oil in the world with multiple searches usually pointing to Mexico. Avocado oil has undoubtedly sparked quite the interest within the food and cosmetics industry especially in relation to nutrition and beauty care. Data outsourced from TRIDGE reveals that In 2020, Malaysia raked in as the top exporter of Avocado oil, contributing to 48.36% to the world global market at $1.65B followed by Indonesia and Netherlands contributing 8.75% and 6.7% respectively.
HOW DO YOU MAKE/PROCESS AVOCADO OIL?
Extracting oil from ripe avocados is similar to that of olive oil extraction with just a few additional steps of removing the skin and seed. Pick your ripe avocado and part it into two equal halves. Remove the seed and scoop out the flesh into a temporary bowl. Ground the flesh into a paste. Slowly mix for 40 minutes to an hour at a temperature of 45-50°C. The higher temperature aisd in the extraction of the oil from the oil-containing cells without affecting the quality of the oil. The paste is then passed into a high-speed drum centrifuge, separating the oil and water from the paste. Due to oil being less dense that water, the thick green oil will be resting on top of the water. This is as unrefined avocado oil should be. The remaining pulp (by products) can be used for soil conditioning or animal feed.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR PROCESSING?
For you lot with basic equipment at home that might find it difficult to follow, we got you! Beforehand, note that 10 medium sized ripe avocados would yield you roughly 3 cups. Just like the cold-pressed method, mash your harvested avocado fruits into paste and spread over a tray (lined with parchment paper). Use multiple trays to help speed up the process. Allow the paste to dry (turn brown) naturally in a well-ventilated area and away from sunlight. Once the paste has dried up, mix evenly and allow to redry. Gather your dried paste into a muslin cloth or material of similar texture. Place over a collecting bowl and allow to drained into or speed the process up a bit by squeezing with your hands. Repeat till no more oil drains out as you squeeze. Move the oil into a permanent jar and store in a cool dry place.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AVOCADO OIL?
As usual, everything we divulge in usually has varying number of uses. Avocado oils can be used in our kitchen, in our bathroom, and even added to our dietary and medication regimens. For instance, you can use avocado oils in your bath! Yes, you read that right. Draw a bath and add a few drops of this to help prevent the skin from drying out from hot water. In addition, this oil can be used a moisturizer for both the skin and face. For use, apply a few drops of the oil onto the face at night, and rinse with a warm water in the morning.
Research studies shows that avocado oil prevents quite a number of health issues including diabetes and cholesterol. A 2017 study showed that avocado oil could even lead to reduced kidney damage within type 2 diabetics. A quick search to Google would also provide you a multitude of recipes to which you can make do with so get searching!
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF AVOCADO OIL?
Avocado oil is an excellent source of monounsaturated fat, linked to the increase of HDL cholesterol and reduction of LDL cholesterol which has direct correlation to many heart and artery disease. Just like olive oil, avocado oil contains high amounts of oleic acids, responsible for lowering blood pressure, in turn improving overall heart health and related conditions. Eating a lot of avocado fruits can help you improve eyesight and enable overall better vision. Luten (one of two major carotenoids found in the human eye) and Vitamin E in avocado fruits aid in the protection against macular disease which can lead to vision impairment later on in life or even blindness. Avocado oil also helps accelerate healing of wounds due to fatty acids and oleic acids that promote collagen synthesis (the process of new connective tissue creation). It can also be beneficial in helping to treat dry and flaky skin. Love-all natural products? Make sure to check out our shop.
