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Sunflower oil with intense flavor

Hi everyone
I recently purchased a large container of organic unrefined sunflower oil, thinking that i could use it in baking & cooking since it's said to have a high smoke point. However, the oil has a very pungent sunflower taste that kind of resembles anise. I was wondering if this is normal cause i thought sunflower oil was supposed to be almost tasteless? I'm wondering if it's rancid or something (although it was produced this month and has a BB date of 2015.)

I baked chocolate chip cookies wirh it and the sunflower smell took over the house for a bit! Any ideas what to do with this oil?

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  1. Taken from the PPC natural market site
    "Unrefined oils




    6 Replies
    1. re: chefj

      Ah I guess most other sunflower oils in supermarkets are actually refined, since they basically have no taste. Oh well, i guess it's hard to find an unprocessed oil with a high smoke point and no taste.

      1. re: heartsandminds

        I think that unrefined Safflower oil can be heated high enough for frying.

        1. re: chefj

          Oh i'll have to look for it! Hopefully it's available where i live. Thanks!

          1. re: chefj

            I use Safflower oil and haven't noticed a strong smell.

            1. re: fldhkybnva

              Yes, but you probably use a regular mass-market supermarket oil, which will have been deodorized in the refining process and thus tasteless. Try something like Eden unrefined low-heat safflower oil: it's a whole different experience.

              1. re: fldhkybnva

                The Quote above is referring to unrefined Oils, which I would guess is not what you are using.

        2. Maybe it's the refined stuff that is tasteless. What kinds of claims did your supplier make about the taste?


          1 Reply
          1. re: paulj

            Honestly I didn't ask. I just assumed all sunflower oils were tasteless. Funny thing is the taste comes thru even more than olive oil.

          2. Real, unrefined sunflower oil has a definite taste, as do all unrefined oils: refined oils are deodorized and purged of their flavor. Regular mass-market supermarket brands of cooking oil are all refined. However, it shouldn't taste of anise, but have a delicate, sweet sunflower flavor that I find delicious. I wonder if you have one of the brands from the former Soviet Union that I occasionally see in corner stores: these are poor-quality oils to begin with, and then they're packaged in clear plastic (which is a great way to turn any oil rancid). I haven't seen a well-done unrefined sunflower oil on the market in close to a decade.

            1 Reply
            1. re: FoodAsMedicine

              Thanks for the info! It's actually a reliable organic brand, but the flavour is really strong. I called up the company and they seemed pretty proud of it, hah. I don't really use it in cooking anymore since I heard coconut is better and I love the flavour. Funny thing is, I started oil pulling and unprocessed sunflower oil is apparently one of the top recommended oils for that, so the container I had didn't go to waste ;)