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PEMBROKESHIRE
GOLD

It takes a lot of time and effort but our Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil offers a true taste of the countryside.

Extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil

Many people are unaware of the nutritional benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil, such as that it contains less saturated fat than all other cooking oils and fats – less than both olive oil or coconut oil. This means Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil is higher in unsaturated fats, particularly mono-unsaturated, and replacing saturated fats with these has been shown to reduce cholesterol, which is good for heart health. It is also a rich source of vitamin E.

Plant sterols are another health promoting micronutrient found in cold pressed rapeseed oil, shown to help lower cholesterol levels. Although the sterol levels in cold pressed rapeseed oil are too low to make offcial health claims, it is an excellent source compared to other oils. Again, however many of these important micronutrients are lost in refined oils.

Cold Pressed Rapeseed oil is naturally yellow in colour. This is down to the presence of carotenoids. Carotenoids play important roles in keeping healthy. People are increasingly looking for benefits from natural sources of carotenoids found in several unprocessed foods. Cold pressed rapeseed oil mainly consists of a carotenoid group called luteins, important for healthy eye function. This is almost completely removed in refined oils.

Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for Baking

Scrumptious Baking – Use Pembrokeshire Gold Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil in place of butter for delicious and healthy cakes and bakes

Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for Frying

Fabulous Frying – With Rapeseed Oil’s high smoke point it is perfect for all your high heat frying needs.

Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for Dressing

Delicious Dressings – Our crystal clear oil is just amazing drizzled over your favourite salads or included in tasty marinades.

Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for Roasting

Ravishing Roasts – Coat in Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil for the perfect roast potatoes or roast veg. Have you thought about using our delicious Rosemary Infused oil to give a hint of rosemary to the perfect roast potatoes?

The process from seeds to Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

The process for producing Rapeseed Oil starts on our farm and in the field. Rapeseeds are planted in the autumn and this is when the little tiny seeds will spring into life. They grow during the autumn and sit dormant through the Winter waiting for the Spring when the fields burst into that characteristic yellow colour you might be familiar with as the fields fill with yellow flowers.
Spring is a wonderful time and the mass of rapeseed flowers support all types of insects, birds, beetles and bees. Our rapeseed supports many colonies of bees and they are vital for the crop helping to pollinate it whilst all the time producing delicious honey.
It is these yellow flowers that go on to produce the pods that contain the new seasons rapeseed. Once the rapeseed has fully grown and the seeds within the pods of the plant turn from green to reddish brown too black and are at around 9% moisture level, it’s time for harvesting.
During the summer time typically end of July is when the combines roll to collect up all the new rapeseed. The crop is cut by the combines big header and then the combine will sort the stalk, leaf and pods from the seed which is collected in the combine’s ‘hopper’. This can carry around 5 tonnes of rapeseed and once full it is emptied into a trailer and taken back to the farm. The stalk and biomass from the plant then goes back into the ground helping to improve soil condition and contribute to the farm catching carbon.
At the farm, the rapeseed is gently cleaned and dried with warm air if required and kept in the barn with cool air blown through it which keeps the rapeseed in optimum condition while it waits to be pressed.
Next, the seed is ready to press using something known as a ‘screw press’. A screw press is, as the name suggests, just like a big screw that’s constantly turning at a slow speed. The seed is drawn in at one end and pushed to the other end as it turns. The ‘cake’ part of the seed is extruded from a small slit at the end and as the seed is pushed through this opening, the pressure around the screw builds and squeezes out the oil. Then, the oil is pushed through the casing around the screw, and collected below.
The ‘cake’ that comes out of the end of the press – leftover once the oil has been squeezed out – is collected and used for animal feed. This is very high in protein, and still contains about one third of the oil. So nothing goes to waste making rapeseed oil very environmentally friendly.
Cold pressing is when we simply squeeze the seeds to extract the pure oil, without any additional heat being used. This means that the process is slow and inefficient compared to the refined process, so less oil is extracted from the seed. As a comparison cold pressed rapeseed oil leaves around 12% oil in the seed, whereas the industrialised method will only leave around 1%.
For the next part of the process we pass the oil through the filters to remove any leftover bits of seed, ensuring it is bright, pure and crystal clear. After this is done the oil will be stored in vats before bottling to be sold in shops or on our online store.