The Role of Edible Oils

The art of cooking cannot be conceived without the essential input of edible oil. It is difficult to trace the history of edible oils, but it is safe to say that since the dawn of civilisation, edible oils have been contributing to the evolution of the taste of mankind. Today, edible oils have slowly spread their mysterious web to all forms of cooking and have become quintessential to the operations of kitchens. The role of edible oils in the bakery industry also cannot be overstated.

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Without edible oils, a bakery, however big or small, simply cannot be operational. Depending on the agro-climatic zone, India primarily produces around nine varieties of edible oil seeds. Groundnut, mustard/ rapeseed, sesame, safflower, linseed, niger seed/castor are some of the major oil seeds that are grown traditionally in India.

Cultivation of sunflower and soybean oil has also increased considerably in the recent years. Among the plantation crops, coconut is the most important source of edible oil. But sadly, despite the cultivationof a wide variety of edible oil seeds, the gap between demand and domestic supply of edible oils in India is only getting wider over the years.

However, besides these nine types of edible oils, Indians do use some other edible oils too. Looking at the global demand for palm oil and its increasing popularity, the southern states of India— Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands have given an impetus to the process of growing palm oil. Cottonseed oil and rice bran oil are some of the non-conventional forms of edible oils in India. But their usage is limited. It can also be mentioned that the inhabitants of the peripheral areas or the tribal people in India still use oils of various forest trees.

The Economy Behind

However, the importance of edible oils lies not only in enhancing taste, flavour, texture and shelf-life of the food items. It also plays a tremendously significant role in India’s economy as a large number of farmers earn their livelihood through oilseed cultivation.