# How do they make peanut oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022 "2004-08-29T00:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/1 "2004-08-29T00:14:22Z")
Sure, this is a stupid question, but then, most of my questions in this forum are. Anyway, I don’t get it. _Peanut_ oil? How on earth do you possibly bleed oil from a peanut? It seems like it would be akin to marketing “gravel oil”. So, what is it? Some kind of vegetable oil with microscopic peanut particles infused in it to give it flavor? I just can’t figure it. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/2 "2004-08-29T00:20:32Z")
Try this: press the edge of your fingernail against a shelled peanut for a few seconds. Don’t press so hard that the peanut breaks up. Move your fingernail and look where you pressed. The peanut is most likely a bit darker in color and you may even see a trace of oil on your fingernail. Peanuts (actually a legume) contain quite a bit of oil. Put 'em in a press of some type and I’m sure you’d be surprised how much oil actually comes out of them. What’s really fun is to get a shelled brazil nut and light the end of it with a match or lighter. It burns like a candle because of all the oil contained in the meat. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/3 "2004-08-29T00:22:01Z")
from here: > [@](#): > > Oil Extraction > > Peanut Oils > > Peanut oil is obtained by one of three methods, including hydraulic, expeller and solvent extraction methods. The hydraulic method of extraction consists of pressing the shelled peanuts under 14,000 psi, while adding steam and heat. > > Expeller pressing is the most popular method of peanut oil extraction. Expeller pressing resembles a modern day meat grinder. Peanuts are fed into a grinder, and pressure is added as the screw turns. This forces the mass out through a perforated screen. The screen separates the oil from the proteinaceous material. > > The solvent method is the most expensive of the three methods. It involves using hexane to extract oil from a peanut meal. This method is frequently combined with the expeller methods. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/4 "2004-08-29T00:22:01Z")
[Here you go:](http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/Peanut_oil.html) > [@](#): > > In extracting the oil in the U.S., the cleaned nuts are passed through hullers or shellers to separate the kernels. The kernels, which contain 48 to 56 percent of oil, are then crushed, heated and pressed hot in hydraulic presses. The oil is used in the manufacture of margarines and shortenings, and as a salad and cooking oil. The press cake is used for cattle food. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/5 "2004-08-29T00:23:04Z")
Oops, I forgot to make my [link](http://www.wsu.edu/~gmhyde/433_web_pages/433Oil-web-pages/olive-peanut/olive-peanut-fish-bitteral.html) work. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/6 "2004-08-29T00:47:23Z")
Thanks, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/7 "2004-08-29T01:03:28Z")
So, how do they make baby oil? :: d&r :: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/8 "2004-08-29T01:32:41Z")
You know when you open your half-used jar of peanut butter that you haven’t opened for a while and you have to mix it up because there’s oil settled out of it? What did you think that was, peanut tears? ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/9 "2004-08-29T01:41:14Z")
> [@Rico](#): > > So, how do they make baby oil? Obviously, it’s extracted from soylent baby. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/10 "2004-08-29T01:50:52Z")
I sometimes considered asking the following question, and this thread seems a perfect oportunity. How comes nuts (peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc…) are so hard despite containing so much oil? What is the rest of the nut made of, besides oil? In what exactly is contained the oil? Are there “oil cells” in the nuts? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/11 "2004-08-29T02:28:43Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > So, what is it? Some kind of vegetable oil with microscopic peanut particles infused in it to give it flavor? For the record, peanut oil does not taste like peanuts. It is prized for its high smoke point (does not scorch easily) and lack of flavor, so it is excellent for high temperature frying. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/12 "2004-08-29T02:58:39Z")
Now, to me, it seems obvious that we have peanut oil…eat a lot of peanut and your hands will be a little greasy, no? But how in the Hell do we get vegetable oil? I have yet to encounter a vegetable that seems like it could provide oil. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/13 "2004-08-29T03:19:05Z")
Seeds. Don’t know what kind, though, but I think it comes from the seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Oat1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/14 "2004-08-29T03:44:02Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > Seeds. Don’t know what kind, though, but I think it comes from the seeds. Oilseeds. [Info](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetable_oil) ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/15 "2004-08-29T04:21:56Z")
The one that’s always stumped me, and I was going to do a GQ thread about, is olive oil. How do they get oil out of something so juicy? Do they press, and separate the oil from the liquid later? Color me baffled. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/16 "2004-08-29T04:23:01Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Sure, this is a stupid question, but then, most of my questions in this forum are. Anyway, I don’t get it. _Peanut_ oil? How on earth do you possibly bleed oil from a peanut? It’s done with very small oil derricks ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/17 "2004-08-29T05:24:54Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > For the record, peanut oil does not taste like peanuts. It is prized for its high smoke point (does not scorch easily) and lack of flavor, so it is excellent for high temperature frying. For the record, it actually depends on the peanut oil. I have a bottle of “Spectrum Naturals” brand unrefined (n.b.) peanut oil that imparts a pronounced peanut taste. And trust me when I say that peanut-flavored pancakes don’t go too well with maple syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/18 "2004-08-29T06:24:38Z")
This thread is giving me a headache. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/19 "2004-08-29T06:25:36Z")
**They squeeze their nuts!** :eek: ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022/20 "2004-08-29T06:36:30Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > You know when you open your half-used jar of peanut butter that you haven’t opened for a while and you have to mix it up because there’s oil settled out of it? What did you think that was, peanut tears? I assumed it was my drool. I loves me some PB. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-make-peanut-oil/262022.md?page=2)