Sunflower oil vs HO Sunflower oil

[ImpKit]

Very basic question here... how do you know if you're buying "regular" vs high oleic sunflower / safflower / etc. oils? Is it typically listed on the package some place? Or do you have to go through vendors that advertise it otherwise what you get is just random chance?

I've only briefly looked over it at my grocery store and have shied away from considering these kinds of oils because I'm not sure how to confirm what I get... And there's also a store near me that sells an olive / sunflower mixture for cooking. Would that likely be "regular" or high oleic? The two oils have the same SAP value according to soap calc so this would theoretically be interchangeable with olive and it's actually cheaper than straight olive oil...

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Is it typically listed on the package some place? Or do you have to go through vendors that advertise it otherwise what you get is just random chance?

Both. Cosmetic ingredient vendors usually name it out. But in supermarkets, it's a matter of luck if they do. Look out for the nutritional information. If it breaks down fats only in saturated/unsaturated, then you have to guess, unfortunately. But if they distinguish mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, then you can tell the difference. HO sunflower is very low in poly-unsaturated (<10%), HL anywhere up to 70%:

The left is HL, the right is HO sunflower oil. Another indication can be the heat stability. HO sunflower is often advertised as high smoke point/deep-fry friendly. If an oil is called “fry oil” and lists sunflower oil as its ingredient, chances are not so bad that it is HO sunflower.

ETA: Same with safflower. Caution with blends of unknown composition (unprecise saponification value). HO seed oils are good and economic replacements for olive oil, see e. g. this thread. But HL oils are bad replacements for HO oils (rancidity, DOS, poor hardening behaviour).

 

[ImpKit]

Sweet. Concrete information to use for judging what I can get. Many thanks!

Especially since I think the oil blend IS marketed as a fry blend. So probably an olive/HO sunflower. And getting my hands on it is less out of the way than a low cost olive, which I have to get at Walmart (not convenient in location or size).

 

[earlene]

Also useful for figuring it out from then nutritional label: High oleic, mid oleic, and regular oil | Soapy Stuff

Additionally, it can sometimes be found on the company's website.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

1. OO, RBO and peanut oil bottle labels, at times, discourage storage in the fridge.
2. Recently, during unrelated research, I stumbled upon the melting point of triolein (the main component of HO sunflower oil): +3.9°C.
3. 
4. HO sunflower (left) and HL sunflower (right) after putting into the deep freezer for a few hours. The HO oil solidified into a hard fat that looks like cocoa butter. The HL turned into a slightly turbid, translucent jelly, and quickly liquefied upon minimal warming. It's an easy test, best carried out at not as ❄❄❄❄❄ temperatures as my freezer, so that HL would stay well within its liquid range. I expect other HO/HL seed oils to behave similarly.