Tea seed oil facts for kids
Tea seed oil is a special kind of cooking oil that comes from plants. It's also known by other names like camellia oil or camellia seed oil. This oil is made from the seeds of a plant called Camellia oleifera. Sometimes, it can also come from the seeds of another plant called Camellia sasanqua.
What is Tea Seed Oil?
The Camellia family of plants includes many important types. One of these, Camellia oleifera, is grown mostly in China to make vegetable oil. This oil is often called 'camellia oil' or 'tea seed oil'. In 2016, about 4 million hectares (a huge area!) of oleifera forests were found around the Yangtze River in places like Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi. These forests produced about 0.26 million tons of oil.
Wild Camellia oleifera plants naturally have about 47% oil in their seeds. However, plants grown on farms can have even more, from 42% to 53% oil. When scientists looked closely at the oil from farm-grown plants, they found it was mostly made of:
- About 76-82% oleic acid
- 5-11% linoleic acid
- 7.5-10% palmitic acid
- 1.5-3% stearic acid
These amounts are very similar to what is found in wild oleifera plants. The oil's makeup is also quite similar to that of healthy Olive oil. Another study found that 82-84% of the oil was made of healthy unsaturated acids.
How is Tea Seed Oil Used?
Tea seed oil has a very high smoke point of 252 degrees Celsius (486 degrees Fahrenheit). This means it can get very hot before it starts to smoke, which is great for cooking! Because of this, it is the main cooking oil used in some southern parts of People's Republic of China, especially in mountain areas. This includes about one-seventh of China's population.
Historically, tea seed oil was also used in Traditional Chinese medicine. People used it as a healthy food supplement to help their digestive system. It was also thought to help manage cholesterol and make the immune system stronger. Sometimes, it was even used on the skin as a baby lotion or to help with burn injuries.
Beyond cooking and medicine, tea seed oil is also commonly used to protect carbon steel cooking knives. It helps stop them from getting rusty.
Important to Know!
It's very important not to mix up tea seed oil with tea tree oil (also called melaleuca oil). Tea tree oil is an essential oil that you cannot eat. It comes from the leaves of a different plant called Melaleuca alternifolia. Tea tree oil is used for medicinal purposes, but it is not safe to consume.
See also
In Spanish: Aceite de Camelia para niños
