History

From the America to Southern Europe and then around the world

The sunflower is a globally famous agricultural crop that is grown mainly for its oil seeds. Surviving records show that sunflowers were cultivated as early as 5000 years ago by Native Americans. In the early 16th century, thanks to the Spanish explorer Monardese, the seeds of these plants reached southern Europe. And from there, to the rest of the world.

The oil extracted from the seeds of this plant has been very popular for many years. It has earned its widespread use in particular because of its delicate taste and high stability. The naturally occurring phytonutrients and essential fatty acids also add to its value. Thanks to all its benefits, sunflower ranks among the most important oilseeds grown in the world.

Origin and cultivation

Sunflower can't be overlooked for its size and colour

The sunflower is a plant that is not to be missed because of its robust growth and bright yellow petals. Most of the time, its flowers are pointing upwards and turning to follow the sun. Later, at their full maturity, the flower heads become heavy and droop to the ground. The mature sunflower seeds, concentrated in the centres of the flowers, are stripped of their husks and pressed into the resulting sunflower oil.

Composition and properties

Yellow colour and characteristically delicate taste. BUT WITHOUT ANY AROMA

The single-grade, ORGANIC certified sunflower oil has a light to dark yellow colour and a characteristically mild taste and aroma.

Sunflower oil is obtained by gentle cold pressing and then subjected to deodorisation. Thanks to this it has a neutral smell = the oil is odourless. Thanks to gentle cold-pressing, the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals and beneficial substances are preserved in the resulting oil. Also important is the high content of the well-known antioxidant – fat-soluble vitamin E.

In sunflower oil you will find mainly unsaturated fatty acids, which make up to 93% of the total composition.

Use

Sunflower oil is a staple food in your household

Sunflower oil can be used not only in cold food preparation but also in warm cuisine due to its high stability. It is suitable for cooking, baking and frying. Due to its fine taste and aroma it is suitable for both savoury and sweet dishes.

Benefits

• 100% natural, organic quality
• Gentle processing (maximum amount of vitamins, minerals, oxidants and other substances beneficial to the body preserved)
• „High oleic oil“ (due to the presence of monounsaturated fatty acids) – much higher thermo-oxidative stability

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Slovakia

Sources

PARK, Brian and John M. BURKE. Phylogeography and the Evolutionary History of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Wild Diversity and the Dynamics of Domestication. Genes. 2020, 11(1), 266.

A. WHITE, DANIEL, IAN D. FISK, SAKUNKHUN MAKKHUN, and DAVID A. GRAY. In Vitro Assessment of the Bioaccessibility of Tocopherol and Fatty Acids from Sunflower Seed Oil Bodies. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2009, 57(13), 5720–5726.

MUHAMMAD ANJUM, Faqir, Muhammad NADEEM, Muhammad ISSA KHAN and Shahzad HUSSAIN. Nutritional and therapeutic potential of sunflower seeds: a review. British Food Journal. 2012, 114(4), 544–552.

BOCKISCH, Michael. Fats and Oils Handbook [online]. 1. AOCS, 1998 [cit. 2020–12–07]. Available from: https//app.kno­vel.com/hotlin­k/pdf/id:kt0068MT52/fats-oils-handbook/economic-importance-sunflower