September 23, 2014

Homemade Peanut Oil 自製花生油

Homemade, Peanut Oil,  自製, 花生油, recipe

The glistening golden liquid in this delicate porcelain dish is something that y'all have probably never tried in your life!  Actually, until very recently, we had never tried it either!  

My 老公's mother had an old friend of hers from her home town of Xinhui 新會區 (near Macau) bring down a bottle of her 媽媽's homemade peanut oil!  This homemade peanut oil was lovingly prepared from the peanuts all the way thru the process of cleaning and crushing of the peanuts to the long wait of extracting the oil.  You would not believe how easy it is to make and how divine this peanut oil smells and tastes!

Homemade, Peanut Oil,  自製, 花生油, recipe

We are super picky about the oil we use in our house.  We don't use any vegetable oils unless it is a cold pressed oil.  We also make our own lard and go to great lengths to get pasture feed or raw butter.  Actually I have got a whole lot to say about the topic of choosing a healthy cooking oil that I will leave for another day.  

Suffice it to say that, after much research and trial, we now use a 'first press' peanut oil when we cook Chinese food.  So this gift was perfect for us!  Be warned, however, that nice peanut oil tastes subtly of peanut.  Which is a perfect complement when cooking most chinese food but if you are cooking something more delicate you might want to go for another type of oil.  

Homemade, Peanut Oil,  自製, 花生油, recipe

We've started cooking some stir frys with this Homemade Peanut Oil and wow, wow, is it something else!  Once in a while you get to taste something truly from the source and you get knocked off your feet with remembrance of what food was like when it was still real food.  Not processed to death, not preserved to last 500 years, not sprayed with invisible chemicals, not tasting like metal from the can.  Just real food!

We haven't tried making peanut oil ourselves (tho' I've thought about it before) but definitely plan to after we finish this gift bottle.  I grilled and grilled my 老公's mother about how her friend's 媽媽 made the homemade peanut oil (poor thing, she's probably still traumatized!) and this is a recipe that I think should do the trick if you want to make your own peanut oil at home.  Do let us know if you have any tips or tricks, we would love to know!
Homemade Peanut Oil Recipe  自製花生油
(makes approx 3 cups oil)  Prep time: 10 mins   Wait time: 6 weeks

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups roasted peanuts, skin removed

Directions:

Blend peanuts in blender or food processor.  It will seem dry at first but keep going and the peanuts will slowly turn into peanut butter.  Keep going until smooth and creamy.  

Pour paste into sterilized container, leaving an inch at the top, cover and put in dark cool place.  Let it sit, undisturbed for 6 weeks.  The oil will rise to the top slowly.  

The peanut oil should now be completely clear on the top and completely separated from the peanut paste on the bottom.  Pour oil off straight into your oil storage container and store in a cool dark place.  

Tip:  Your homemade peanut oil doesn't have preservatives in it like the store bought kind so be sure to store in cool, dark place and use it up quickly.

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10 comments:

  1. Definitely do a blog post on cooking oils.

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    1. Hey Cindy - Will do! But it's taking some time as it's a hard one to write up properly. ~ellen

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  2. I remember my Grandmother talking about using the fat of the pork belly as cooking oil...all naturally healthy. Our current society has gone so far away from that natural-ness with commercially produced vegetable oils. Was reading the book "Grain Brain"....these commercial oils have high omega 6 content, the 'bad fat' and makes us ill. Thanks for sharing the good old fashion way of making cooking oils!

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    1. Hi Shirley - Yes, you're so right about the high omega 6 in veg oils! Will have to check out that book you mentioned. Interesting how we come full circle back to Grandma's way of thinking, isn't it? ~ellen

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  3. Hi , how much oil wouldthis recipe yield? Thanks LC

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    1. Hi LC - the recipe would yield around 2 cups ~ellen

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  4. Hi. I tried making the oil today using my food processor. I have blended it for almost 30 minutes but I still could not reach a very smokth consistency. Inhave rested it in the fridge, my paste looked grainy and dry, so there was not any oil deposit at all after the second day. Is it possible for you to post a video tutorial on this recipe? I really really love peanut oils and love the idea of making it at home. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. Hi By His Grace - humm...what kind of peanuts did you use? ~ ellen

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  5. Hi, sorry I know I'm 8 years late. After pouring out the peanut oil would we still be able to eat the peanut butter? Would it be sage to eat or would it have gotten stale?

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  6. Yes, edible but it will be a bit dry as most of the oil removed. ~ellen

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