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Rapeseed (Colza) Oil: Ripened, Threshed and Pressed
Colza, or rape, is a cabbage relative whose small seeds give an oil that lit the lamps of France and Belgium. Andrew Ure (1839) notes the seed yields oil only in proportion to its ripeness, so the plants are cut a little early, before the pods shed, and left to finish ripening in heaps before threshing. The pressing is the same as for linseed oil.
The picture: a rapeseed (colza) field in flower.
Beginner
A day of pressing
Instructions
1
1
Ripen, thresh and winnow
Ripen, thresh and winnow
Let the cut plants finish ripening in an airy heap, thresh out the seed, winnow off the chaff and sift it.
Materials for this step:
Rapeseed3 kgTools needed:
Winnowing Tray
Sieve2
2
Dry the seed
Dry the seed
Spread the seed thinly in the air to dry before pressing (Ure).
Tools needed:
Drying Mat3
3
Press, settle and decant
Press, settle and decant
Press the dry seed in the screw press, let the oil settle and decant it clear, exactly as for linseed oil. Keep the pressed cake: Ure notes it fattens cattle.
4
4
Filter and bottle
Filter and bottle
Pour the settled oil through a paper filter in a funnel into clean bottles, and keep it cool and dark.
Tools needed:
Kitchen Funnel
Coffee Filters / Filter Paper
Amber Glass BottleTools Required
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