Product Description

Cottonseed oil is extracted from cottonseed. Cotton has long been known as nature's unique food and fiber plant. It produces both food for man and feed for animals in addition to a highly versatile fiber for clothing, home furnishings, and industrial uses.

2. Cottonseed oil has been a part of the American diet for well over a century. Until the ***0's, it was the major vegetable oil produced in the United States. Now, with annual production averaging more than 1 billion pounds, Cottonseed oil ranks third in volume behind soybean and corn oil representing about **6% of the total domestic fat and oil supply.

3. Cottonseed oil has many food applications. As a salad oil, it is used in mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, and marinades. As a cooking oil, it is used for frying in both commercial and home cooking. As a shortening or margarine, it is ideal for baked goods and cake icings.

4. Cottonseed oil is primarily used in the U.S. as a salad or cooking oil. About *6% is consumed in that category while about *6% goes into baking and frying fats, and a small amount into margarine and other uses.

5. Cottonseed oil has a mild, nut like taste. It is generally clear with a light golden color, but like most oils, the degree of color depends on the amount of refining. Clear, colorless oils are not necessarily better oils, but may have been refined more severely.

6. Cottonseed oil is often used as the yardstick for measuring flavor and odor qualities in other oils.

7, Cottonseed oil is one of the few oils considered acceptable for reducing saturated fat intake.

8. Cottonseed oil is among the most unsaturated oils. Others include safflower, corn, soybean, canola and sunflower seed oils.

9. Cottonseed oil has a 2:1 ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids. Its fatty acid profile generally consists of *0% unsaturated fatty acids including *8% monounsaturated (oleic) and *2% polyunsaturated (linoleic) and *6% saturated (primarily palmitic and stearic).