Harvesting MILLIONS Of Tons Of SUNFLOWER Seeds To PRODUCE Sunflower Oil For Cooking

in fictional stories and TV shows a bright and sunny field will never be complete without any sunflowers in sight just when most of the people thought sunflowers are only for their beauty and aesthetic it surprises us with its health benefits and uses they are not only for display or mere garden plants they are also important ingredients in a lot of products that we use especially in oils zooming into the actual flower you can immediately notice how it is made up of hundreds of tiny flowers and seeds these are the stars of today's show in today's Lord Gizmo video we will take a look at the behind the scenes of sunflower oil manufacturing but before that please don't forget to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel for more related videos fun fact sunflowers are heliotropic plants this means that they are biologically meant to turn their heads to face the sun throughout the day this is also part of the reason why they are called sunflowers because they absorb as much sunlight as possible by chasing after its Rays sunflowers are known for a lot of things but they are popularly known as snack options however they are also good oil Alternatives it can be used in cooking industrial applications and even in skincare products it is surprising to know that their oils are filled with health benefits for instance sunflower oil particularly High olic varieties is rich in monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats particularly linolic acid these fats can help lower bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol potentially reducing the risk of heart disease when consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet in place of saturated fats aside from that it is also a great source of vitamin E A lot of skin care and Beauty Care Experts recommend products with this ingredient since it serves as an antioxidant that protects cells from damage the same component is also beneficial and can greatly contribute to brain and nerve health of course there will be no sunflower oils without the sunflower itself so the process must start with planting them depending on which Farm you will be in they may have different methods in planting sunflowers the one you will witness in this video is the general method or what most Farms would do sunflowers are very specific plants this means that their planting season also happens at a very specific time for the best results Farmers usually plant them after the last frost has passed and the soil temperature reaches at least 50° f F or 10° C most of the time sunflowers are planted using direct seeding or the most common method for farms in this technique the farmers need to attach large Planters to the tractors they use the purpose of these Planters is to drill seeds directly into the ground you have to remember that although this is done mechanically workers are still there to check the whole process to ensure proper spacing and depth is followed sunflower seeds need to be planted around 1 to 2 in deep and each of them should be spaced according to the needs of their variety for example shorter sunflowers need to be spaced around 6 in apart while taller ones might need double that space this needs to be followed to ensure proper growth of each sunflower unlike other plants and crops sunflowers cannot be harvested when they are in full bloom even if they already have vibrant and yellow petals they are still not ready to be harvested usually sunflowers will start to Bear flowers after 2 to 3 months of planting however the seeds themselves need to have an additional month to mature after the flower blooms this is why it is important to note that the days to maturity you see on seed packets do not necessarily refer to when they are ready for Harvest but to when they will start flowering now the question is when is the right time to harvest the sunflower seeds this usually happens when the sunflower head is past its peak Bloom farmers will know this because the back of the flower head will start to become Brown and dry out this is also the time when the seeds start appearing plump and start to loosen up from the sunflower head this is the perfect time to harvest them harvesting sunflow seeds require speed and accuracy because any time wasted can cost the farmers a lot to solve this they use mechanical Harvesters that make the whole process efficient and fast usually sunflower Harvesters have header attachments that help cut the stalks just below the sunflower head this process is done with the help of a reel equipped with knives or disc Cutters since most of the Harvesters have wide working widths they can process multiple rows of sunflowers in a single go to keep track of the sunflower they harvested the machine is also equipped with a gathering unit with fingers or orgers these parts of the machine carefully collect the severed heads and move them to the threshing part speaking of the threshing unit it is a part of the machine that separates the seed from the head different machines use different methods for threshing but they all have the same goal to remove the important part of the sunflower it seeds then they forward it to another vehicle or truck as a preparation for their transportation to the processing facility this is where all the magic happens once the harvested sunflower seeds reach the processing facility they will be placed inside a storage tank until they are ready to be processed some of the facilities process hundreds of tons of sunflowers each day and this whole process includes various steps although most of them are done mechanically workers are still there to monitor that everything goes according to plan it all starts with cleaning and sorting the sunflower seeds at this stage the sunflower seeds are screened through a machine the purpose of this is to remove any foreign objects like debris or Stones workers also look out for seeds with defects so that they can ensure that only high quality seeds are processed after that they proceed to dehulling the outer shell of the seed there are many ways to do this but we will show you how they do it through machines specifically a sunflower seed shelling machine this machine uses the concept of rubbing and rolling in removing the shells of the sunflower seeds first the workers feed the seeds to a series of rollers or rub bars that are all programmed to work under specific pressure pressures this motion then creates friction that cracks the hulls the advantage of using this method is found in how it can effectively remove the shell or Hull without doing any damage to the kernel inside after that the cracked or holed seeds will be separated from their actual shells through the help of an air flow system once they have already gathered the shelled seeds the workers will start forwarding them to a mechanical press this step is essential in getting the oil out of them depending on the facility seeds can be preheated first to assist in this step after that they are fed into this barrel-shaped chamber with a screw orer at its Center the orar continuously rotates pushing the seeds towards a narrow opening at the end of the chamber as the seeds move through the chamber the increasing pressure and friction cause the oil to be squeezed out the barrel has small perforations or a caged section that allows the oil to escape while retaining the solid seed meal the extracted oil exits the Press through a collection system the remaining solid material called presscake exits the other end of the press this facility boasts in the fact that they do not use any chemical additives in their process to extract the remaining oil a solvent typically hexane is used used to dissolve the oil from the remaining seed solids the oil solvent mixture is then separated and the solvent is evaporated from the oil usually through a heating process leaving behind crude sunflower oil this method recovers more oil but requires careful solvent removal to ensure food safety but even after the extraction the oil still needs to go through a series of refining this is to ensure that the oil released in this facility is very pure and of high quality then they check the properties and even the performance of the oil inside their laboratory their skilled and experienced workers will be in charge of checking the oil after all that the oil will be forwarded to the packaging facility they will be put inside bottles and sealed to preserve their quality each of the bottles are labeled accordingly to give consumers an idea of what is inside the product even at this step accuracy is needed so that no oil will spill finally they will be packaged into boxes as a preparation for a wider distribution sunflower oil is not only used for cooking or consumption they can also be used as an additive to different products they go through a similar initial process but let us go over the steps briefly in the next clips first of all most of the Cosmetics or skincare products do not use sunflower itself but only its oil so certain companies process the seeds and extract its oil through a pressing or solvent extraction process even if we're only talking about oils it is important to note that they have different types too depending on the intended use a company can require a specific type of oil in this case most of the Cosmetics companies use coldpressed sunflower oils because of their higher quality and higher nutrient content once they have extracted the oil they still need to subject it to refining although this step is optional it does play an important role in enhancing the quality of the sunflower oil to do this the crude sunflower seed oil is fed into certain machines to remove impurities color and odor the more refined the oil the more it can be used for lotions and creams on the other hand less refined oils are used for hair products where a slightly nutty scent is acceptable most of the time the sunflower seed oil is not the main component for the Cosmetic product but rather an ingredient Incorporated in the formula this is done through mixing it with other ingredients like water waxes emulsifiers and other oils depending on the desired final product the specific amount of sunflower seed oil used will vary based on the product's intended purpose and desired benefits preservation preservatives are often added to cosmetic products containing sunflower seed oil to extend shelf life and prevent microbial growth packaging and testing the finished product is packaged and undergo testing to ensure safety and in compliance with quality standards before distribution but sometimes the amount of sunflower seeds exceed the volume needed to produce sunflower oil to utilize everything and not waste a single Harvest different companies and manufacturers have thought of products to incorporate sunflower seeds one of the most common products is sunflower seeds at this point of the video we will take a look at how one of the companies roast and season their sunflower seeds first up they gather all the seeds that they need then they feed it into this machine that will help in sorting each one of them the same machine helps in lifting the seeds and transporting them to the next station or step cleaning is also a major part of this phase where debris dust and any unwanted object is removed in this specific facility they use a combination of machines to speed up up and increase the efficiency of the process they aim to produce high quality sunflower seeds so they need to maintain consistent temperature all throughout the roasting too good thing that their Roasters are equipped to do so the seeds are suspended in a hot air current ensuring even heat distribution and roasting although the process of roasting already brings out the flavor in the sunflower seeds adding seasoning with salt and other flavoring this is typically done in a tumbling drum with a controlled amount of seasoning added then the roasted seeds are left to quickly cool so that the cooking process stops and they do not get overcooked or burnt there are many ways to do this but most of the time this is done through the use of a blast of cool air finally the cooled seeds need to be weighed and packaged into bags or containers they will be prepared for a wider distribution no one can deny the beauty sunflowers hold but more than that we also cannot deny how useful they are not only in our Market but also in our everyday lives you might not notice but some of the things you use on a daily basis may be infused with sunflower oil knowing the process of how they are created and manufactured helps us appreciate it even more want to learn more about sunflower seed oil check out the links in the description below for additional resources this has been Lord Gizmo and we hope you learned a thing or two before you leave please don't forget to show this video some love by giving it a thumbs up subscribing to our Channel and clicking the notification Bell so you can 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Channel: Lord Gizmo

Views: 18,379

Keywords: sunflower seeds, sunflower harvesting, sunflower oil, sunflower, sunflower oil factory, sunflower farming and harvesting, sunflower harvesting machine, harvest sunflower seeds, harvest and processing sunflower seeds, harvesting sunflowers, how sunflower seeds are harvested, sunflower seeds oil for skin, processing sunflower seeds, sunflower seeds research, sunflower seeds oil, sunflower seeds market, sunflower seeds report, roasted sunflower seeds

Id: 8ZvSbECx4nA

Length: 15min 42sec (942 seconds)

Published: Tue May 28 2024