Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

derived from

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is often used in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, African and

Southeast Asian cuisine This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest, most populous and culturally diverse continent, ...

, both for general cooking, and in the case of roasted oil, for added flavor. Peanut oil has a high

smoke point The smoke point, also referred to as the burning point, is the temperature at which an oil or fat begins to produce a continuous bluish smoke that becomes clearly visible, dependent upon specific and defined conditions. Smoke point values can va ...

relative to many other cooking oils, so it is commonly used for frying foods.

History

Due to war shortages of other oils, use of readily available peanut oil increased in the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Production

Uses

Unrefined peanut oil is used as a flavorant for dishes akin to

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

. Refined peanut oil is commonly used for frying volume batches of foods like

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

and has a smoke point of 450 °F/232 °C.

Biodiesel

At the 1900 Paris Exhibition, the Otto Company, at the request of the

French Government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

, demonstrated that peanut oil could be used as a source of fuel for the

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

; this was one of the earliest demonstrations of

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

technology.

Other uses

Peanut oil, as with other vegetable oils, can be used to make soap by the process of

saponification Saponification is a process of converting esters into soaps and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali (for example, aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions). Soaps are salts of fatty acids, which in turn are carboxylic acids with long carbon chains. ...

. Peanut oil is safe for use as a

massage oil Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

Composition

Its major component

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, fr ...

s are

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...

(46.8% as

olein Triolein is a symmetrical triglyceride derived from glycerol and three units of the unsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. Most triglycerides are unsymmetrical, being derived from mixtures of fatty acids. Triolein represents 4–30% of olive oil. Tri ...

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...

(33.4% as

linolein Linolein is a triglyceride in which glycerol is esterified with linoleic acid. It's a primary constituent of sunflower oil and multiple other vegetable fats. It is used in the manufacturing of biodiesel. Linolein is also an ingredient in some cosm ...

), and

palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...

(10.0% as

palmitin Tripalmitin is a triglyceride derived from the fatty acid palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and micro ...

). Choose peanut oil and then "Oil, peanut, salad or cooking". The oil also contains some

stearic acid Stearic acid ( , ) is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. The IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. It is a waxy solid and its chemical formula is C17H35CO2H. Its name comes from the Greek word στέαρ "''stéar''", which means tallow. ...

arachidic acid Arachidic acid, also known as icosanoic acid, is a saturated fatty acid with a 20-carbon chain. It is a minor constituent of cupuaçu butter (7%), perilla oil (0–1%), peanut oil (1.1–1.7%), corn oil (3%),U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricul ...

behenic acid Behenic acid (also docosanoic acid) is a carboxylic acid, the saturated fatty acid with formula C21H43COOH. In appearance, it consists of white solid although impure samples appear yellowish. Sources At 9%, it is a major component of ben oil (or ...

lignoceric acid Lignoceric acid, or tetracosanoic acid, is the saturated fatty acid with formula C23H47COOH. It is found in wood tar, various cerebrosides, and in small amounts in most natural fats. The fatty acids of peanut oil contain small amounts of lignoc ...

and other fatty acids.

Nutritional content

Peanut oil is 17%

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

, 46%

monounsaturated fat Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids that have one double bond in the fatty acid chain with all of the remainder carbon atoms being single-bonded. By contrast, polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond. Molecular description Fatty aci ...

, and 32%

polyunsaturated fat Polyunsaturated fats are fats in which the constituent hydrocarbon chain possesses two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Polyunsaturated fat can be found mostly in nuts, seeds, fish, seed oils, and oysters. "Unsaturated" refers to the fact tha ...

(table).

Health issues

Toxins

If quality control is neglected, peanuts that contain the mold that produces highly toxic

aflatoxin Aflatoxins are various poisonous carcinogens and mutagens that are produced by certain molds, particularly ''Aspergillus'' species. The fungi grow in soil, decaying vegetation and various staple foodstuffs and commodities such as hay, sweetcorn ...

can end up contaminating the oil derived from them.

Allergens

Those allergic to peanuts can consume highly refined peanut oil, but should avoid first-press, organic oil. Most highly refined peanut oils remove the peanut allergens and have been shown to be safe for "the vast majority of peanut-allergic individuals". However, cold-pressed peanut oils may not remove the allergens and thus could be highly dangerous to people with peanut allergy. Since the degree of processing for any particular product is often unclear, many believe that "avoidance is prudent".

References

External links

Peanut oil at WebMD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peanut Oil Cooking oils Peanuts Vegetable oils