Avocado oil facts for kids
Avocado oil is a special cooking oil. It comes from the soft, green part of avocados, which is the fruit of the Persea americana tree. People use it for cooking, like frying, because it can get very hot without burning. It's also used in beauty products and for other things.
One cool thing about avocado oil is its high smoke point. This means it can be heated to a very high temperature before it starts to smoke and break down. Unrefined oil can handle about 250°C (482°F). Refined oil can go even higher, up to 271°C (520°F)! This makes it great for high-heat cooking.
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What is Avocado Oil Used For?
Avocado oil is great for cooking because it can carry other flavors well. It's also healthy! It has a lot of good fats called monounsaturated fats. It also contains vitamin E, which is important for your body. Plus, it helps your body take in other good things like carotenoids from your food.
To make avocado oil for beauty products, the avocado flesh is first dried to remove most of its water. Then, the oil is taken out using special liquids and heat. After that, it's cleaned and made odorless. This results in a yellow oil. For cooking, avocado oil is often "cold-pressed." This means it's made without a lot of heat, keeping its natural flavor and color, much like extra virgin olive oil.
Is Avocado Oil Good Quality?
A study from the University of California, Davis in 2020 looked at avocado oil sold in the US. They found that some avocado oil was not fresh before its expiration date. Also, some bottles labeled as "pure" or "extra virgin" avocado oil actually had other oils mixed in, like soybean oil. This means it's good to choose trusted brands when buying avocado oil.
Special Features of Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is different from most cooking oils because it comes from the fruit's pulp, not its seeds. The oil from the 'Hass' type of avocado has a special taste. It's high in healthy monounsaturated fats and has a high smoke point, making it perfect for frying.
When 'Hass' avocado oil is cold-pressed, it's a bright emerald green color. This color comes from natural plant pigments like chlorophylls and carotenoids. People describe its taste as having an avocado flavor, with hints of grass and butter or mushroom. Other types of avocados might make oil with slightly different tastes. For example, 'Fuerte' avocado oil might taste more like mushroom and less like avocado.
Avocado oil has healthy fats similar to olive oil. It's also naturally low in acid, which helps it handle high heat. Both unrefined and refined avocado oil can be used safely for almost any high-heat cooking. This includes baking, stir-frying, deep-frying, searing, barbecuing, roasting, and sauteing. The more refined an oil is, the higher its smoke point usually is.
Every 30 milliliters (about two tablespoons) of avocado oil contains 3.6 milligrams of Vitamin E. It also has 146.1 milligrams of beta-sitosterol, which is a plant compound.
See also
In Spanish: Aceite de aguacate para niños
