Avocado Oil — Frequently Asked Questions

Cold-pressed or virgin avocado oil is mechanically extracted without heat or solvent. It keeps a green colour from chlorophyll, a grassy flavour, and a low smoke point. Refined avocado oil is bleached and deodorised, giving a pale, neutral oil that tolerates frying near 250 degrees Celsius. Choose refined for high-heat cooking and neutral formulations, and cold-pressed where the colour, flavour or unrefined status is part of the product claim.

Avocado oil is pressed from fruit pulp rather than a dry seed. The fruit is perishable, contains a large stone, and yields far less oil per tonne than an oilseed such as soybean or sunflower. Harvest is also seasonal and largely manual. Those factors put it in the premium tier alongside oils like macadamia rather than alongside commodity soft oils.

Yes. Under the INCI name Persea Gratissima Oil it is widely used as an emollient in creams, lotions, hair conditioners, lip balms and massage oils. Its value in personal care comes largely from the unsaponifiable fraction, which carries phytosterols and vitamin E and gives the oil a rich, cushioned spread. Confirm the intended market at enquiry so the correct grade and documentation are supplied.

Store in sealed containers away from heat, direct light and air, ideally below 25 degrees Celsius. Although the high oleic content gives good oxidative stability, headspace oxygen and warmth will still raise peroxide value over time. Virgin grades are more sensitive than refined grades because they retain chlorophyll, which accelerates oxidation in the light.