Cottonseed Oil

Edible Oil and Fat Products: Edible Oils
Fereidoon Shahidi

Fereidoon Shahidi

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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Won Young Oh

Won Young Oh

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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Peter J. Wan

Peter J. Wan

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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Phillip J. Wakelyn

Phillip J. Wakelyn

Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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First published: 17 February 2020
Citations: 2

Abstract

Cottonseed oil, America's original vegetable oil, dominated the United States vegetable oil market for over a century. Cottonseed is a by-product of cotton and difficult to process and refine due to its unique seed structure and high content of natural pigment. Through research and experimentation, chemists have developed a clear, odorless, bland-flavored cottonseed oil and a creamy, white shortening that set the standards for edible fats and oils worldwide. The scientific and technical advances developed to process cottonseed and cottonseed oil became the cornerstones of the edible fats and oils industry as it is known today. Numerous processes were developed or perfected especially for cottonseed oil and cottonseed which later found application for other oils and oilseeds. These processes include screw press extraction, prepress solvent extraction, and direct and expander-solvent extraction for the crude oil; caustic and miscella refining; fractionation via winterization; deodorization; bleaching; hydrogenated basestock system; blending and formulating with various basestocks to achieve the desired performance and characteristics, etc. Today, vegetable oil processors worldwide have a wide range of raw materials to choose from, but cottonseed pioneered the American vegetable oil industry.

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