Buzz
Avocado oil is extracted from ripe avocados and has a wide range of uses, from cooking and frying to skincare and haircare. Store-bought avocado oil can be quite expensive, so making it at home is a more economical option. Extracting avocado oil is also relatively simple. Depending on the method you choose, you might even end up with leftover avocado mash, perfect for baking or making fresh guacamole!
Steps
Extracting Oil Using the Cooking Method
Peel 12 avocados. Wash 12 avocados and cut each one around the pit. Use a knife to pry around the pit until the two halves separate, then scoop the avocado flesh into a blender or food processor. Discard the skins and pits.
"Avocado oil is highly effective for skincare. It is rich in vitamins and fatty oils that moisturize the skin and accelerate the healing process".
Alicia Ramos
Beauty Specialist
Beauty Specialist
Blend the avocados. Turn on the food processor or blender to puree mode. Blend until the avocados become a smooth paste, then pour the mixture into a medium-sized pot.
Cook the avocado on medium heat. Set the stove to medium heat and cook the avocado mixture, stirring every 5 minutes. As it begins to boil, you'll notice foam forming, and avocado oil will rise to the surface.
Cook until the mixture darkens. Continue cooking and stirring until the avocado changes color from light green to dark green or brown, and the water evaporates.
Transfer the avocado mixture into a bowl. Once the cooking process is complete, scoop the avocado mixture into a bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean, thin cloth like cheesecloth, securing it around the rim. Flip the bowl upside down and gather the corners of the cloth to form a pouch containing the avocado mixture.
Squeeze the pouch to extract the oil. Hold the avocado pouch over another bowl and squeeze to filter out the oil. Avocado oil will drip slowly into the bowl. Rotate and squeeze the pouch for about a minute until no more oil drips out.
Pour the oil into a jar. Once all the oil has been extracted, pour the oil from the bowl into a small jar or container with a lid. Now, you have homemade avocado oil ready to use!
Extracting Oil by Pressing Avocado Skins
Peel 12 avocados. Cut each avocado around the pit, then use a knife to separate the halves. Scoop out the avocado flesh and set it aside. Discard the pits.
- You can use the avocado flesh to make guacamole or incorporate it into other recipes!
Place avocado skins into a citrus press. Gather the avocado skins you’ve separated and stack them neatly, then insert the stack into the citrus press.
- While citrus presses are designed for oranges and similar fruits, they work exceptionally well for extracting oil from avocado skins.
Press the avocado skins. Pull down the lever of the citrus press until the press head makes contact with the avocado skins. Apply firm pressure to the lever. The press will squeeze the avocado skins together, forcing the oil out.
- The avocado oil will flow into the press’s collection container.
- Refer to the citrus press instructions if you’re unsure how it operates.
Press until the oil stops dripping. Repeat the pressing process multiple times to extract all the oil. If any part of the avocado skins remains un-pressed, rotate and press them again to ensure complete extraction.
Filter the oil. Remove the collection container from the press. You may notice small pieces of avocado flesh or skin floating in the oil. If any debris is present, filter the oil by placing a coffee filter inside a fine-mesh strainer and setting it over a bowl. Pour the oil through the strainer into the bowl.
- The coffee filter will catch any remaining avocado particles.
Let the oil filter and bottle it. You can leave the strainer over the bowl overnight. This allows any residual oil trapped in the avocado pieces to slowly drip into the bowl. Once filtered, pour the avocado oil into a small jar and seal it tightly.
Extracting Oil by Pressing Dried Avocado
Extract the flesh from 12 avocados. Cut each avocado around the pit, then use a knife to separate the halves. Scoop out the flesh of 12 avocados and place it into a food processor.
Blend the avocado into a smooth paste. Once all the avocado flesh is in the food processor, blend it until it becomes a creamy, smooth mixture.
- You can also mash the avocado by hand if you don’t have a food processor.
Spread the blended avocado onto a baking tray. Scoop the blended avocado onto the tray, then use a spatula to spread it into a thin, even layer. Aim for a thickness of about 1.3 cm.
Place the tray in the oven. After spreading the avocado into a thin layer on the tray, place it in the oven. No preheating is necessary, but ensure the oven temperature does not exceed 50°C. The goal is to dry the avocado, not bake it.
- Alternatively, you can leave the tray in direct sunlight for about 2 days to dry.
Leave the avocado tray in the oven for 5 hours. Allow the avocado to dry in the oven for approximately 5 hours. Check every hour to ensure the avocado doesn’t burn. The avocado should turn a dark greenish-brown; if it turns black, remove it from the oven immediately.
Remove the avocado from the tray. Take the tray out of the oven after 5 hours. Use a spatula to scrape the avocado off the tray and place the pieces into a thin cotton cloth or a square of cheesecloth.
Squeeze the avocado pouch into a bowl. Lift the cloth containing the avocado and gather its corners to form a pouch. Squeeze the pouch firmly over a bowl to extract the oil. Rotate and reposition the pouch to ensure all the oil is pressed out. Stop squeezing when no more oil drips.
Pour the avocado oil into a jar. Once all the oil has been squeezed into the bowl, discard the cloth and dried avocado remnants. Pour the avocado oil into a jar and seal it tightly.
Tips
- Use avocado oil as a substitute for butter in baking, as a grilling oil like olive oil, or as a dressing for salads.
- Avocado oil has numerous health and beauty benefits, such as being used as a makeup remover or for scalp care.
