Ingredient Stories - Cranberry Seed Oil

Makers Ingredients Cranberry Oil range is one of our favourites and for good reason. The shared pictures do not give it justice. To be stood in front of a sea of red - a remarkable sight.

Makers Ingredients work exclusively with operation in Canada which predominant business is focussed on the manufacturing of Cranberry fruit & juice. The Cranberries harvesting is the most stimulating part of the process. The fruits grow on a shrub/vine on nearby marches and bogs. The farmers will then use water reels (known to the farmers as “eggbeaters”) to chum the water and loosen the cranberries from the vines. Every cranberry fruit has a small air pocket enabling the fruit to float to the surface, fortunately making the harvesting process that little bit easier. Remarkably Cranberry harvesting has adapted and farmers have used this process to as a management tool to protect the plants and fruits from the elements.

Once the fruits are gathered from the marsh, they are transported to the facility for sorting, washing and grading for sale as a fruit, juice or for the pressing of oil. Each cranberry contains approximately 30 seeds of which takes approximately 15kg of cranberry fruits to produce as little 50mil of oil. That is a lot of cranberries!

The beauty of this product (other than its inherent benefits) is that there is zero waste in the production of Cranberry Oil. The low-grade fruits are separated and used for the processing of the oil, because ultimately the seeds are all that are required to produce the oil. The seeds are dried, cold pressed, then filtered for the oil. The cold pressing process is 100% natural and does not require and processing aids. The by-product of the pressing process (the meal) is also utilised. This is a cracking antioxidant scrub that can be used in a wealth of cosmetic formulations.