Peanut Oil is also called Groundnut Oil or Arachis Oil. It is extracted from peanuts (groundnuts) and this is quite easy to make at home. I will show you how to make peanut oil at home. Groundnut oil has many calories and high in saturated fat and therefore not good for the heart. It is commonly used for cooking and frying. Below are the steps for extraction of peanut oil and the calories and nutritional content.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
I used 5 cups of peanuts. Other items need are either a pestle and mortar or a wooden spatula for mixing your peanut butter. You will also need clean water, which may be cold or warm.
Steps on How to make Peanut Oil (Groundnut Oil) at Home
Making Peanut Butter
- You need to first roast your peanuts by toasting on heat using a stove or you can use an oven to have them roasted evenly; thereby giving your peanut oil a bright straw color.
- Peel the skin of the peanuts and use a powerful blender or food processor and blend into smooth peanut butter then pour in a bowl for mixing.
- You will need clean cold or warm water which you will be adding to the peanut butter as you stir.
Extracting the Groundnut Oil
- Start by adding a tablespoon of water at a time and stir to mix completely. Do not pour the water all at once; because once you add the water more than what is required to extract the oil, the peanut oil cannot be extracted again. So it is always good to add a little water at a time that is why I prefer a tablespoon at a time. You can increase the quantity you add at a time if you are working with a large batch of peanut butter.
- You have to keep adding the water and stir. At first, the peanut butter starts to thicken when the water is added but just before the groundnut oil starts to be expelled, the peanut butter becomes thick and changes from light brown to dark brown in color. When this occurs, you will notice the peanut oil begins to float on top. Once you notice this, you can start using your hand by forming a fist and mashing the thickened peanut butter to expel more oil.
- When enough of the oil has been expelled, scoop it out and continue pressing with the fist until the groundnut oil is completely extracted.
- You can dip your fist in water to prevent your hand from sticking to the peanut butter and also to help expel more oil from the groundnut paste.
- I used about 27 tablespoons before I reached the stage where the oil started flowing out.
What to do with the leftover paste after extracting the groundnut oil
- When you notice the Arachis oil is no more being extracted from the paste again; you can fetch a handful of the paste and squeeze out with your hand; place the paste in a different container. The groundnut paste can be used for making Kuli-Kuli (an African peanut recipe) made in the form of cookies that is common in Nigeria. Kuli Kuli is often mixed with sugar, ginger, or salt.
Straining and Preserving the Groundnut oil
- Once done, you can use a cheesecloth placed over a fine strainer to strain the groundnut oil collected. This is to purify it so as to have a clear oil to use for your cooking or frying.
- It is good to fry or heat the oil for about 10 minutes and allow it to cool before storage because heaving helps to get rid of any contamination that might cause the groundnut oil to become rancid thereby helping to preserve your homemade peanut oil. It can last for months even without refrigeration or freezing.
Calories and Nutrition of Peanut Oil
For every 100 grams of peanut oil, there are 884 calories 100 grams of fat with no carbs or protein. Of the 100 grams of fat; there are 17 grams of saturated fat, 32 grams of polyunsaturated fat, and 46 grams of monounsaturated fat.