Does anyone now how i can make sunflower oil out of my sunflowers i have in my garden?

Question

what can i use to crush them

Answer 1

The oil comes from the seeds. You want the oilseed sunflower type, not the snack eating type.

I don't think its practical for you to do do it yourself. You need an oil press which can exert several dozen tons of pressure and you need a heat source to extract all the oil.

Also, the freshly extracted oil needs to be used in a short time, a few weeks or so, or it will spoil without preservatives.

You might try to experiment in the kitchen with some ground seed and a strong garlic press if you have one. See if you can get any oil out of them with the garlic press. Grind the seed up in a blender, or even better, one of those small home coffee bean grinders (they are available for only $10-15),  then heat them a bit and try to squeeze oil out. Better use a very strong garlic press though.

I'm surprized that no one makes a s***w press for home on-the-counter use. It seems to me it would be a useful gadget for the kitchen.

Answer 2

It takes 2500 square feet of sunflowers to make 3 gallons of oil.  Here's where I got those numbers and how to do it:

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_libr...

Answer 3

well you would need to press the oil out. you could make a press easily by getting two pieces of melamine or plastic and clamping it together with a couple of g clamps. however i suspect you will need an awful lot of seeds which could prove quite expensive and also be a lot of effort. if i were you i would sprinkle them with sea salt and toast them in the oven which would be much easier and more enjoyable

Answer 4

you need a mighty load of seeds for it to be worthwhile they have to be crushed and then very finely filtered a very labourious task

Answer 5

Crush them but you will only get a tiny amount out of a lot of seeds. Do you have a big crop or just one plant?  Better off if you just eat them and enjoy the crunch.