John Myers
Pumpkin seed oil, grape seed oil, and apricot seed oil: Fine vegetable oils like these enrich the kitchen and provide a variety of tastes. We have put together the most important information about the liquid delicacies for you.
Delicious variety: pumpkin seed oils
While rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil can be found in almost every kitchen, seed oils are far less common. It is worth discovering the fine fats with their typical flavors. They give many dishes a special touch and they can also score points for the ingredients. High-quality oils from seeds and kernels can be used to refine warm and/or cold dishes. So that the taste and the good properties are preserved as best as possible, you should know which oil is suitable for frying and which is not. In this way, you also avoid unwanted substances being produced during heating.
Use of seed oils in the kitchen
Dark green pumpkin seed oil, for example, is best enjoyed cold, for example with a salad. The perfect addition to a dressing with the oil is pumpkin seeds as a crunchy topping. Roast the kernels briefly in a pan without fat, so they develop their aroma particularly well. For this reason, the seeds for the pumpkin seed oil from Styria are traditionally heated to around 100 °C during production: The oil tastes intensely nutty and smells slightly of caramel. Grapeseed oil is also characterized by a nutty, musty taste, while desserts and pastries can be enhanced with apricot kernel oil, which tastes subtly of marzipan.
That’s what’s in it: valuable fatty acids
Seed oils are among the healthiest fats in the diet. They are rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which help maintain normal blood cholesterol levels. Depending on the variety, there is also vitamin E, which protects the cells from oxidative stress, and vitamin K, which is important for bone health and normal blood clotting. So feel free to enjoy these oils in larger quantities. You can find more foods with vitamin K here.
Use as a skin and hair care product
Seed oils can not only be used for cooking and baking, but they are also great beauty products. Massaged into the skin, lips, and hair in small amounts, apricot kernel oil, in particular, has a moisturizing effect and smells pleasant. Grapeseed oil can be used in a similar way, while pumpkin seed oil is only partially suitable for skin care and hair packs due to its deep green color. If you make the oil yourself with (wild) herbs and fruits, you can also use it externally.
