Vegetable oils can be classified by grouping oils extracted from similar plants, such as nut oils. This includes oils from major oil crops like soybean, palm, sunflower, rapeseed, and corn, as well as a few dozen minor oil crops. Oils from plants are used for several different purposes.
What is a plant oil?
Plant oils or vegetable oils are oils derived from plant sources, as opposed to animal fats or petroleum. There are three primary types of plant oil, differing both the means of extracting the relevant parts of the plant, and in the nature of the resulting oil:
What is a vegetable oil?
Vegetable oils, also known as vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or other parts of fruits. Examples include soybean oil, grape seed oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, palm oil, and rice bran oil.
What are some examples of vegetable oils?
Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter, as well as olive oil, palm oil, and rice bran oil, are all examples of vegetable oils. In common usage, seed oils or fats from seeds and fats from other parts of fruits are referred to as vegetable oils. They are usually edible.