Pressing Sunflower Seeds into Cooking Oil

We no longer eat seed oils because the manufacturing process causes them to be extremely toxic. When I discovered current studies claim they probably caused my late Mother's macular degeneration blindness, I swore I would not use them at all. We now press our own oils with a Happybuy Electric Hot Oil Press/Extractor machine purchased from Amazon. It is well made, heavy duty, fully metal, and will last our family a lifetime. It is quite pricey but I consider it worth the money Reese spent for our health benefits. 

The instructions were easy...easy to get confused that is. Don't try to read into the detailed instructions too much. Just plug in, preheat for ten minutes, then press go!

Some assembly was required. At least we weren't putting together a shelf from Ikea.

We pressed 40 pounds of sunflower seeds purchased from Tractor Supply Company for less than $20 USD. On occasion we experiment with other types of seeds but sunflowers have given us the best results. It took about ten hours to process the whole bag. The machine did not overheat but ran steadily all day long. Ear plugs were not required, thankfully. We got about one and one-fourth gallons of oil from this particular bag. Fresher, higher quality seeds produce more oil. Reese experimented later with preshelled sunflower seeds to see how they compare with those in shells. They pressed faster and less waste was extruded, but the preshelled cost about 2.5 times more for the same volume of oil than those with shells. It is a choice between spending more time (with shell) or more money (preshelled).

It was tedious constantly loading the hopper every 10-15 minutes. So we placed a plastic gallon milk jug (with the top and bottom cut off) into the hopper to increase the volume of seeds. It worked surprisingly well. The spoon stirred the jammed seeds into the press. This only happened 1-2 times per load even though Reese would stir it unnecessarily to relieve boredom.

The shells were expelled from the discharge pipe and the oil dripped into a small filtered cup. It was not large enough for our purposes so we replaced it with something larger.

It seems staring at the machine made it drip faster and caused hypnotism. 

The shells were dry and crumbly when expelled. A cooled handful could easily be crushed into a third of the volume. (Reese also considered this activity entertaining.) Originally the shells dropped into a large bowl but it was changed to a clean trash bag to hold more volume. As long as the can was placed correctly and the shells were occasionally crushed down, much work was saved. It later became great mulch in the garden. 

The oil produced is full of sediments and must be filtered. It has a very distinct and overpowering taste of sunflowers and can't be used. 

We let it sit undisturbed for a month so the larger particulates would settle down and form a thick sludgy mass. The goodish oil on top was poured into a clean vessel. It was then strained through a coffee filter which was replaced 6-8 times per gallon due to quickly clogging. The filtering would still take several days. However, if you were to leave the oil undisturbed on the shelf for 3-6 months, even smaller particulates would eventually settle down. Another option is to pour the good oil off and only filter the remaining oil. The coffee filter method expedites the filtration, but waiting 6 months gives a cleaner final product.  

Reese stores the machine at his house and presses enough once a year for everyone.  Much to our surprise, this jar which was pressed two years ago has not gone rancid. Google claimed fresh pressed oil would only last 9-12 months. Our experience has blown that estimate out of the water. It has worked perfect in everything except the fresh oil's flavor interferes with some recipes and like first pressed olive oil, stings your throat. Storing it open has lessened the flavor. 

We have moved completely away from everything that has seed oils and it has not been easy. I only use high quality olive oil and my sunflower oil. I saw first hand how my Mother suffered and won't risk it happening to me or my family. Good health and vision are too valuable to risk on anything.

May's Garden (2025)

The word to describe this month's garden is "disarray".  It has been one storm right after another.  Everything that has gotten planted between the showers is growing rapidly along with the weeds.

Hubby is continuing to work on putting up the fence around the garden. We didn't anticipate needing to buy fencing supplies during a worldwide, tariff trade war. Finding what we need hasn't been easy. Each store has different parts in stock and the prices have varied widely. 

The boundary line has been moved back and forth due to newly discovered underground boulders. Every dig has brought a new surprise. It has extended the garden and made it larger.

And if all of that wasn't enough, we awoke after a violent storm this week to three huge sagging trees precariously balanced over our driveway blocking us in. Forget any deliveries or friends visiting.

A tree trimming company explained the trees are entwined over the driveway and are pushing against each other. To safely remove them would require each one to be tied to a piece of heavy equipment like a bulldozer to avoid a sling shot motion when cut. It would take a large crew and much equipment. The price to do this was astronomical. 

We decided to let Mother Nature safely drop the trees wherever she wants and whenever she is ready. It will certainly be a surprise and will probably happen at the most inconvenient time. The driveway will be blocked for days, our neighbor's fence under the trees will be destroyed so his cows will pay us another visit. (Our grass is much greener than theirs). Our field fence beside the driveway will be smashed and I expect to have to chase down our horses but, oh well, when has life ever been easy?   

It was quite a bit of hard work but Bill was able to carefully clear the lowest branch so the drive can be used. Tomorrow, after it stops raining, we are getting out for the first time in days and going somewhere, anywhere. Hopefully, we will be able to find some fencing supplies and then, we can get back to the garden. I'm not complaining. Really. Someday when we least expect it, we will have enough firewood fall into our laps to keep us warm for many winters. Well, of course, after we work ourselves half to death sawing it apart. 

Last Month's April Garden (2025)

Last Year's May Garden (2024)

April's Garden (2025)

 

A big success this month! The Unzen Early Flat onions all matured far ahead of the others that were started from seed at the same time. They were surrounded by spinach and survived inside the hoop house with no problems. Since they grew on land that would have lain fallow all winter, no garden space was wasted - now, the row is available for spring crops. It is perfect timing because the other storage onions have been used. This crop will be doubled come fall.

The Unzen Early Flat are best eaten fresh, have a mild, sweet flavor and we love them. They are similar to the Georgia Vidalia Onions who get their special flavor due to the soil and weather conditions in that area. It is true. I tried growing the seeds in my garden but they tasted like regular onions. Unzen did just fine in my soil.

The newly created drying rack has been pressed into service. It will be interesting to see if they store long but I suspect everything will be eaten very soon.

It appears the onion bulbs purchased from the store last spring, kept in the refrigerator and planted in the fall might be the next to mature. They still seem to be quite a distance from being ready.

As for the rest of the garden, everything is moving along. We are hoeing and planting as fast as we can but the weeds are growing like, well, just like weeds!  

 Every day I try to plant a few seeds, pull a few weeds, pick something to use, and water whatever is wilting. We are making progress.

Last Month's March Garden (2025)

Last Year's April Garden (2024)

March's Garden (2025)

 

Everything left from the winter garden has awaken and sprung to life. We too, have been enjoying the sunshine and warmth. The hummingbirds arrived today which is two weeks ahead of schedule! Spring feels early and we are loving it.

The winter garden is rapidly maturing. The Swiss Chard tasted so much better this past winter that it will no longer be grown during the summer. Planting it in the fall will save effort watering it during droughts.

This month's garden is nothing compared to last year's March's garden (2024) when I canned 52 quarts of greens for Reese; but, I have been able to do it again even with a smaller garden! He will be shocked when he comes home on vacation. It is much more than he can use but it will fill his pantry. He has seen how some years are plentiful and others are sparse. It is best to get what you can because it might not be there the next time.

Last month, I bragged about how much this bed of onions had grown and how big they were since they were the first seeds started last fall - now, every single one has bolted. It appears starting them earlier wasn't a good idea after all. 

The onions in the spinach bed were started a few weeks later than the bolting onion bed and have already begun forming bulbs. Finding the correct planting date for my garden is essential. Some are going to be allowed to go to seed to see what nature thinks is best. The day the first seed falls to the ground will be the magical planting date marked on the calendar.

Potatoes will be planted this month. Those that sprouted in the pantry along with the ones that were newly purchased are sitting on the porch soaking up the sun.

Some of the Red Pontiac have already begun forming little potatoes. They are definitely ready to be planted!

We have big plans for the garden this year. We are adding a little more area, focusing only on our favorites and will be installing a tall fence. The critters  have become too prolific as multiple large subdivisions are springing up all around us and forcing the wildlife into our area. Inflation won't be slowing anytime soon so we are going to get as much as possible from our garden. 

Last Month's February Garden (2025)

Last Year's March Garden (2024)

Swarmed!