Sunflower oil and its applications

Sunflower is one of the oldest oilseeds in the Americas. It is the state flower of Kansas State and constitutes a significant segment of oilseeds produced in the former Soviet Union Block. Sunflower is admired worldwide for its vibrant beauty and is an important source of food. Its oil is viewed as a healthy vegetable oil and its seeds contain a wide range of nutrients that are enjoyed as a tasty snack as well as nutritious ingredient in many foods, such as health bars, salad garnish and spreads similar to peanut butter. Sunflower is an important crop choice for US growers from the northern plains of Dakotas to Texas panhandle. The oil has very good taste and appearance. Today, there is the traditional sunflower oil, which is high in linoleic acid content that makes it excellent for both domestic and industrial use. The high linoleic acid content makes the oil unstable in industrial or institutional frying. Mid‐oleic sunflower, which contains higher oleic acid and lower level of linoleic acid than the garden variety sunflower oil is more suitable for industrial and institutional frying along with the applications such as salad oil and cooking oil. High oleic sunflower oil, that contains 80% or higher oleic acid and very low linoleic acid, is one of the most stable oils for all applications, including industrial and institutional frying, and also for industrial non‐food applications such as lubricant, as transformer oil and various other applications.