Why Use Solvent-Extraction If Cold-Pressing Results In Healthier Vegetable Oils?
Solvent-extraction is cheaper and results in a lot more product. Cold-pressing is more expensive because it uses up more olives, seeds, nuts, etc., to get the same amount of oil. Back in the early 1980s, the shortening manufacturer that I worked for was experimenting on a newfangled way of extracting avocado oil using a large centrifuge. The centrifuge separated the pulp/skins/pit from the oil very effectively. The resulting avocado oil came out a deep dark green, but then they had to bleach, refine, and deodorize it. They never did end up marketing it, but it was an interesting process to explore. Perhaps in the future someone will come up with a way to make this process financially feasible. It would be nice to have a healthy alternative to solvent extraction.
