Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is a pale-yellow oil with a mild flavour and light texture. Its neutral taste makes it ideal for blending with stronger flavoured, more expensive oils such as hazelnut oil, making them more economical to use. The refined oil has a relatively high smoke point of 230°C (450°F), which makes it useful for sautéing, pan frying, searing and stir-frying. Cold-pressed extra virgin sunflower oil (unrefined) has a much better flavour than the refined version, but its low smoke point of 105°C (225°F) makes it suitable only for use as a salad dressing or condiment.

Like safflower oil, sunflower oil is produced in two major varieties: linoleic and oleic. Linoleic sunflower oil is high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which although is still a healthier alternative to animal fat, is also high in omega-6 fatty acids, which most people need to moderate and balance with the healthier omega-3's. Oleic sunflower oil is seen to be a better choice; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, which is said to increase HDL (high-density lipoprotein) levels and decrease the more harmful LDL (low density lipoproteins) levels, whilst also reducing inflammation.