There are two new things that I’m very excited about. Today I’ll talk about the oil press I ordered. I know this is going to sound weird and probably kinda crazy to many of you but it’s something I want to try.
I try to watch all of Homesteading Family’s youtube videos and the other day I clicked on one that was entitled Who Knew You Could Grow THIS Staple? Turns out it was about growing various oil seed producing plants and pressing your own oil. Did you know you can press oil from watermelon seeds? Butternut squash seeds and, of course, sunflower seeds.
In the video, the Homesteading Family lady was discussing pressing the oil with Bevin Cohen, who is the author of The Complete Guide to Seed and Nut Oils: Growing, Foraging and Pressing. Of course, I ordered the book. I have taken that book to bed with me for the last four nights and poor Vince . . I’ve ended up reading it to him almost word for word. He doesn’t mind all my crazy ideas . . so long as I keep them to myself, and he doesn’t mind helping (he may be the one doing the cranking on the oil press) but I don’t think he wants to fall asleep listening to me reading a book about oil seeds but it’s so exciting . . if I had the seeds and the press already here, I’d be pressing seeds day and night.
I ordered the oil press Bevin Cohen recommended for beginners but it hasn’t arrived yet.
The peredovik sunflower seeds are the ones most often used for oil and I thought it was funny/weird that when I was first starting seeds for this year’s garden, I read that peredovik sunflower seeds were good to plant to draw bugs away from the garden so I have quite a few of those growing already. It takes a lot of sunflower seeds to have enough to press oil but I have plenty of seeds and I’ll plant more next year. I had never heard of them before this year. I planted a good many sunflowers in Texas but I just planted whatever seeds I found and didn’t think much about it.
I’m sure some of you are thinking . . doesn’t she know seed oils are bad for you? Yes! We’ve completely stopped using seed oils but from what I understand, at least some of what makes them harmful is in the commercial processing. I’m confident that pressing our own oils, even seed oils, will be healthy and fine for us.
I’m guessing the oil press will arrive while I’m out of town. I need to come up with something I can press because it will be hard for me to have a press and no seeds! Chad mostly works in Kansas and they grow tons of sunflower seeds there so I’ve asked him if he will be on the lookout for organic seeds. He said “Sure” which usually means . . probably not. 🙂