As you might be able to guess by the title, rice bran oil is the oil derived from rice bran, the laborious outer layer of brown rice that’s eliminated to create white rice, says Elizabeth Ryan, Ph.D., a rice bran researcher and professor on the University of Colorado.
Once the bran (which might possible in any other case go to waste) is eliminated, its oil is usually extracted utilizing chemical solvents. There are different applied sciences to extract the oil as properly, together with expeller urgent and supercritical fluid, which entails utilizing high-pressure carbon dioxide to take away the bran, says Ryan.
Once extracted, rice bran oil is then refined to take away waxes and free fatty acids, which regularly burn and smoke when heated, to make it appropriate for cooking.
Rice bran oil is basically produced1 in Thailand and India, and it’s a well-liked cooking oil in lots of Asian nations2, together with Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. Since it has a smoke level of 490 levels Fahrenheit—one of many highest of all cooking oils—and a impartial but barely nutty taste, rice bran oil is helpful for frying and baking, says Ryan. It’s additionally a well-liked ingredient for stir-fries.
The oil can act as an emulsifier and lengthen shelf life, so it’s additionally present in extremely processed meals.