What does high oleic mean?
High oleic sunflower oil, cold-pressed, from dehulled seeds — a flavoursome oil, crafted for salads, finishing and cold dishes. Clean, delicate and gently nutty, typically 87% oleic acid (Omega 9), 0.33% acidity.
Same field. Different seed composition.
Conventional sunflower oil — the ordinary, linoleic sort we've cooked with time out of mind — is rich in linoleic acid, or Omega 6: an essential fatty acid, sound enough in itself, yet uneasy under heat and rather delicate once cold-pressed. It oxidises quickly and loses its flavour within a few months. High oleic oil turns that ratio on its head: up to ~87% oleic acid (Omega 9, monounsaturated) — stable, and made to keep. It is the very same plant, merely of a different composition in the seed — seeds bred to hold at least 75% oleic acid, against the 20-30% of the conventional sort.
This is not a matter of genetic modification, but of conventional breeding — a practice more than fifty years old. The first high-oleic variety, Pervenets (from the Russian Первенец, meaning 'firstborn'), was developed by Karl Ivanovich Soldatov at the VNIIMK Institute in Krasnodar (USSR) between 1974 and 1976, reaching the rest of the world only later. We simply cold-press the finer variety, from dehulled, unheated seed.
You can't tell it apart by eye.
In the field, the high-oleic sunflower looks exactly like the conventional one — the same plant, the same flower. The difference is invisible, hidden away in the composition of the seed. That is precisely why its cultivation calls for stricter rules than ordinary sunflower: for the seed to keep its oleic profile, a high-oleic crop must be held apart from the conventional (linoleic) sunflower growing nearby. This is achieved either through a distance of isolation in the field (recommendations begin at some 150 m for commercial varieties and rise towards 400 m and beyond for seed purity), or through isolation in time — staggered sowing, so that the flowering of the two crops does not coincide. Should pollen from the conventional flower reach the high-oleic crop, the proportion of oleic acid in the harvest falls. Herein lies our reasoning: the true figure is not presumed but confirmed, lot by lot, through a certificate of analysis.
| Average composition | Floarea clasică (linoleică) | High Oleic |
|---|---|---|
| Oleic acid (Omega 9) | 20-30% | 82-92% |
| Linoleic acid (Omega 6) | 60-70% | 5-10% |
| Oxidative stability | low | 2.5x higher |
*Superior oxidative stability, confirmed by stability testing (Rancimat/OSI) on each batch.
How to tell them apart, once bottled.
It carries 20–30% oleic and 60–70% linoleic. Pronounced on the nose and palate, it oxidises quickly — as a rule within two to three months of opening — and turns rancid.
It carries 82–92% oleic and merely 5–10% linoleic. The taste is clean and gently nutty, without the bitterness the husk imparts, for we use dehulled seed — and, for the very same reason, it is low in wax. Above all, it keeps for up to twelve months after opening without turning rancid.
Where it truly comes into its own
Ours is, above all, an oil of flavour. You reach for it at the finish, where aroma and vitamin E truly count: over salads, cheeses and tomatoes, drizzled over a cream soup or over hummus, in dressings and marinades, or poured last over a warm dish. This is where our cold-pressing below 30°C shows its purpose — we heat nothing, so the clean sunflower flavour and vitamin E remain intact in the bottle.
What you gain from the composition of a high-oleic oil is not, first and foremost, resistance in the pan, but longevity.With only 5–10% linoleic acid — the fraction that turns rancid first — the oil has some 2.5 times the oxidative stability* and keeps for up to twelve months after opening, stored cool and out of the light, without taking on that paint-like taste of old oil. A finishing oil that does not spoil in the bottle before you have finished it: that is the difference you notice day by day.
*Superior oxidative stability, confirmed by stability testing (Rancimat/OSI) on each batch.
High oleic: cold-pressed vs cold-pressed then deodorised vs refined
Beneath the very same name, 'high oleic', lie three quite different products. What sets them apart is the processing temperature and what becomes of the oil after pressing.
Refined and deodorised
The seed is heated, pressed hot, and the oil then refined at 220–240°C, often with solvents. The result is an oil with no taste, no smell and no vitamin E — stable, yet nutritionally hollow. You will find it sold in bulk, in the catering trade: cheap and neutral.
Cold-pressed, then deodorised
The initial extraction is indeed cold pressing, without solvents, but the oil afterwards passes through a deodorising step (a heat or steam treatment, at temperatures lower than full refining, yet high enough to strip away the characteristic smell and taste). The result often bears the words 'cold-pressed', though it has been heat-treated after pressing, and has lost its aroma, its nutty taste and part of its natural vitamin E.
Cold-pressed at 25-30°C
Hand-hulled seeds, slowly pressed at 25–30°C and filtered through high-density material without heating. Retains the pure floral taste and natural vitamin E; acidity 0.3%.
Our process - step by step
- We dehull – removing the bitter huskRoughly 25% of a seed is husk, which brings bitterness and smoke. We remove it before pressing, leaving only the golden kernel, rich in oleic. The yield is smaller, but the taste far cleaner.
- We press cold, below 30°CA screw press, at low speed, with no added heat. The oil flows slowly and clear, and the temperature within the press never exceeds 30°C — otherwise the vitamin E would be lost.
- Mechanically filtered, not refinedWe let it settle for 48h, then filter through high-density material. No bleaching earth, no deodorising. What you see is what came out of the press.
Why ~87% Omega 9 matters
It’s not about being “healthier” in general. It’s about three tangible things you experience in the kitchen and over time.
It keeps twelve months once opened, not two or three
A fine taste, with vitamin E kept whole
A clean profile, with no deodorising or refining
What the regulatory framework says about oleic acid
Claim authorised in the European Union
Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats in the diet contributes to maintaining normal blood cholesterol levels. Oleic acid is an unsaturated fat.
For information, the position of the US authority (FDA)
“Supportive but not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that daily consumption of about 1 ½ tablespoons (20 grams) of oils containing high levels of oleic acid, when replaced for fats and oils higher in saturated fat, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”
Source: FDA Qualified Health Claim for High Oleic Oils. This is a regulatory position from outside the European Union, cited here for information only, concerning the composition of the high-oleic oil category in general. It is not a health claim authorised in the EU, it does not apply to our product as a commercial claim, and it does not constitute medical advice. Within the European Union, only the authorised claim above applies.
For general context on monounsaturated fats
How to recognise a good cold-pressed high oleic oil?
As we said, you cannot tell it by appearance — neither the plant in the field nor the oil in the bottle will tell you, on its own, what profile it has. The only real proof is the certificate of analysis.
Check the certificate
- Acid oleic >82% – ask for the batch analysis, not the story on the website
- Acidity <0.8% – ours is 0.3% (for comparison, the “extra virgin” threshold for olive oil is 0.8%)
- Peroxide value <7 meq/kg – shows freshness, low oxidation
Read the label
- „100% cold-pressed high-oleic seeds” – not “vegetable oil” or “blend”
- Batch with certificate – every one of our batches has an analysis available on request via WhatsApp
- Seed origin + cold-pressing – if the temperature is missing, it's most likely refined
Questions about high oleic
Why is it more expensive than classic sunflower oil?
+Can I cook with it, or is it only for cold use?
+It is, first and foremost, a finishing oil and one for gentle cooking — a light sauté, fried eggs, vegetables in the pan over low to medium heat. At 170-180°C it neither foams nor smokes, so for the occasional fry it does very well — something of an all-rounder, in fact, for all but the fiercest heat. For heavy or continuous frying, however (high temperatures, oil used again and again), we would recommend a refined oil: being unrefined, our strength lies in oxidative stability and flavour, not in withstanding the fire without limit.
By way of reference, noting that in an unrefined oil the smoke point depends on filtration and free acidity, not on the oleic percentage:
| Oil type | Smoke point | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional (linoleic) sunflower oil, cold-pressed | ~107°C | low |
| Cold-pressed high oleic (ours) | over 160°C* | high (2.5×) |
| Extra virgin olive | 190-210°C | medium |
| Refined rapeseed | ~240°C | moderate (no taste) |
*The exact figure is confirmed by analysis on each batch. Our real advantage lies in oxidative stability, not in the smoke point.
Can I recognise it by its appearance?
+How do I store it after opening?
+Ready to taste the difference?
High oleic oil, cold-pressed from dehulled seed 500 ml (16.9 US fl oz / 17.6 imp fl oz), typically ~87% Omega 9 (82% guaranteed minimum), acidity 0.33%. A batch with a certificate, pressed in Tălmăcel, Mărginimea Sibiului -The Borderlands of Transylvania
