What is 'cold pressed' in relation to extracting oils and juices from plants etc and what are the benefits

Answer 1

It means that the oil is pressed out rather than using steam extraction;
Some people think that heat destroys some of the beneficial properties of the oil;

Answer 2

With otherways of extracting oils, heat is used. With cold pressing, cloth covered in a thick layer of oil with zero smell is applied to the product, and left for several days, until the oil has picked up the scent of the product. This is used for things that would not survive the heat treatment, jasmine are the hardest flowers from which to extract scent, if they are picked at daybreak, you have only until sunset before the delicate blooms wither and die.
I think that you are asking about getting juices for food, rather than perfume production though, and in these cases, it's pretty much the same. With tomatoes they heat them then drain the mixture, with grapes, they just chuck them in a huge pot and squash them, no heat is needed.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Cold pressed is a term that gets sort of losely bandied around, but basicly means that the product is closer to natural. For thousands of years, all oils were cold pressed. For the sake of money, industrialists invented ways of getting more oil out of the seeds & nuts - by using heat, then by using chemicals, like hexane. It has taken a few years for us to realize that the heat ruins the oil and the hexane is really bad for our health.

Here's a good link for more: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/index.php?id=32

When it comes to fresh plant or fruit juice, sometimes the plant is cooked to extract more juice. For instance, apple juice usually comes from cooked apples. Apple cider is from fresh, crushed apples and has a different taste & properties. So although it is not the usual term applied, cider is "cold pressed."

And the common term for "cold pressed" olive oil is "extra virgin." It's one of the few healthy oils available in supermarkets.

Answer 4

Most people are surprised to hear that oils labeled 'cold-pressed' are not cold-pressed at all. Store owners and customers alike believe that when oil is labeled cold-pressed (wrongly implying that the oil remained cold while being pressed), it is nutritionally superior; and they also believe (rightly, in part) that heat destroys oils. What does 'cold-pressed' actually mean?

You can learn more and read some very interesting details in the link below.

Answer 5

It means that the "fatty acid" structures that reverse the aging process were not destroyed by heat processing.

Fatty acids are oils that have been shown to reverse heart disease, help neurological function etc. Why? Your cell walls are made out of fatty acids otherwise known as lipids.

When you eat man made oils, it stiffens cell walls and contributes to rapid aging, Macular degeneration, heart disease, cancers etc... Why?

Because the fat structure of hydrogenated oils like margarine, Wesson oil, fried foods etc... insert their molecules in between your fatty acid molecules on your cell walls. Thus, making the walls of your cells stiff and rigid. Therefore, no anti oxidants that take away free radicals can enter or leave the cell freely.

Get it?