Cottonseed is the seed of the cotton plant.
The mature seeds are brown ovoids weighing about a tenth of a gram. By weight, they are 60% cotyledon, 32% coat and 8% embryonic root and shoot. These are 20% protein, 20% oil and 3.5% starch. Fibres grow from the seed coat to form a boll of cotton lint. The boll is a protective fruit and when the plant is grown commercially, it is stripped from the seed by ginning and the lint is then processed into cotton fibre. For every hundred weight of fibre, about one hundred and sixty weight of seeds are produced. The seeds are about 15% of the value of the crop and are pressed to make oil and used as animal feed. About 5% of the seeds are used to sow the next crop.
The seed oil extracted from the kernels, after being refined serves as a good edible and nutritious source. It can be used as a cooking oil, salad dressings. It is also highly beneficial for the production of shortening and margarine. Cotton grown for the extraction of cottonseed oil is one of major crops grown around the world for the production of oil, after soy, corn and canola.
Cottonseed Oil
Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plants of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum, that are grown for cotton fiber, animal feed, and oil.
Cotton seed has a similar structure to other oilseeds such as sunflower seed, having an oil-bearing kernel surrounded by a hard outer hull; in processing, the oil is extracted from the kernel. Cottonseed oil is used for salad oil, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and similar products because of its flavor stability. Use in food
Cottonseed oil has traditionally been used in foods such as potato chips and is a primary ingredient in Crisco, the shortening product. But since it is significantly less expensive than olive oil or canola oil, cottonseed has started to be used in a much wider range of processed foods, including cereals, breads and snack foods. Use as insecticide
In an agricultural context, the toxicity of cottonseed oil may be considered beneficial: Oils, including vegetable oils, have been used for centuries to control insect and mite pests.This oil has been generally considered the most insecticidal of vegetable oils.
