Clearspring Organic Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil 250ml

The secret to the award-winning flavour of this gourmet oil is that it is cold pressed from toasted Demeter organic Styrian pumpkin seeds in Austria. Styrian pumpkin seeds are a unique variety. The pumpkins are grown for their green, golden-striped seeds rather than flesh because of their delicious and distinctive flavour which also make them ideal for pressing into oil. So unique are they that they have been awarded PGI Certification (Protected Geographical Indication). This is issued by the EU to protect foods that are of particularly high quality or possess unique characterises based upon their geographical location. Inheriting its dark green colour from those seeds, this unique and versatile oil is delicious with wholegrain bread, soups, salads and even desserts. - Rich in Vitamin E - High in Polyunsaturated Fat - Ideal in vegetable, pasta and grain dishes as well as soups How is it made? Our Demeter Organic Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil is cold-pressed and unrefined. Cold pressing is when the raw ingredient is simply pressed without external sources of heat or chemicals applied to the pressing process. This allows the oil to retain more of its flavour and nutritional value creating a higher quality product. Once the oil is extracted from the raw ingredient, it needs to be further processed to remove any residual particles that might be left from pressing. Oils will fall into two categories at this stage: refined and unrefined. Like the pressing process, heat is one of the key elements which defines the method. Refined oils are subjected to heat pressure at this stage. Unrefined oil, such as our Demeter Organic Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil, is processed much more gently using filters rather than heat after extraction. Like cold pressing, this helps the oil retain more of its flavour and nutritional properties, which would otherwise be degraded with the application of external heat.