Name: Safflower oil, pressed from the seeds of the safflower plant (Carthamus tinctorius). It is sold in two nutritionally distinct types: high-linoleic (the traditional type) and high-oleic (a more modern breeding development) — worth checking the label, since their fatty acid profiles differ substantially.
Description
Safflower has been grown for thousands of years across Asia and the Middle East, historically prized more as a dye plant (its petals produce a red or yellow dye) and for traditional medicine than as an oil crop. It was introduced to United States agriculture in the 1930s, and varieties bred for higher oil content in the 1950s established it as a genuine oilseed crop.
The original safflower cultivars produced oil unusually high in linoleic acid — higher than almost any other commercial oilseed. In the 1950s, breeders identified a naturally occurring high-oleic variant, and by 1966 the first high-oleic safflower variety was commercially released, giving growers and cooks a choice between the two very different oil profiles.
Main nutrition value
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Like all pure oils, safflower oil is essentially 100% fat and around 884 kcal per 100g. High-linoleic safflower oil is dominated by the polyunsaturated omega-6 fat linoleic acid, while high-oleic safflower oil is instead dominated by monounsaturated oleic acid, closer in profile to olive oil — the two types behave quite differently in cooking and in the diet despite sharing a name.
How best to be consumed
Which type of safflower oil suits your kitchen depends on what you're using it for.
- Check the label for “high-oleic” or “high-linoleic,” since the two types differ meaningfully in fat composition and stability.
- Use high-oleic safflower oil for higher-heat cooking, since monounsaturated fat is more heat-stable.
- Use high-linoleic safflower oil in dressings or lower-heat cooking, where its polyunsaturated fat content is less of a concern.
- Store away from heat and light, as with any oil, particularly the high-linoleic type.
Overconsumption could cause…
Beyond the general calorie density of all oils, the two safflower oil types carry slightly different considerations at high intake.
- A skewed omega-6 to omega-3 ratio if high-linoleic safflower oil makes up most of your dietary fat.
- Excess calorie intake if used generously, since a tablespoon carries well over 100 kcal.
Wikipedia — Safflower, used for cultivation history and oil variety background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safflower
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