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Groundnut oil, what many call peanut oil, is one of the most familiar cooking oils across South and West Indian kitchens. Pressed the slow, wooden way, it keeps its character: a warm, nutty aroma, a clear golden colour, and the natural vitamin E that sits in the unrefined oil. This is a practical guide to using it well, with one important caution you should read before you cook for anyone else.
What cold-pressed groundnut oil is
Our groundnut oil is cold-pressed (wood-pressed) and unrefined. Because it is not bleached, deodorised or chemically refined, it keeps the colour, smell and flavour of the groundnut itself rather than being stripped back to a neutral, pale oil.
- A nutty aroma that carries into the dish.
- A natural golden colour, not a colourless refined oil.
- Naturally occurring vitamin E that survives because the oil is unrefined.
Treat it as a flavour ingredient as much as a cooking medium, the taste it brings is the whole point of using an unrefined oil.
Where it shines in the kitchen
Cold-pressed groundnut oil is happiest in everyday South and West Indian cooking where its flavour can come through and the heat stays moderate.
- Tadka and tempering: blooming mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried chillies and asafoetida.
- Sautéing: onions, ginger-garlic, vegetables and the base for a curry.
- Chutneys: a spoonful stirred through coconut or tomato chutney lifts the whole thing.
- Marinades: coating paneer, vegetables or proteins before cooking.
- Shallow and medium frying: dosas, cutlets, bondas and the like at moderate heat.
In short, it suits the cooking most of us actually do day to day, quick tempering, a working sauté, and gentle frying, rather than long sessions at a rolling-hot temperature.
Smoke point and frying, the honest version
This is where it helps to be straight with you. Unrefined groundnut oil has a smoke point of roughly 160°C (320°F). That is comfortably warm enough for tempering, sautéing and shallow or medium frying, but it is lower than people often assume.
Highly refined peanut oil is a different product: its smoke point is far higher, around 227–232°C, which is why it turns up in deep-frying advice. Cold-pressed groundnut oil is not the same thing. So despite what some marketing claims, unrefined groundnut oil is not the right choice for sustained, very-high-heat deep frying, use it for shallow and medium-heat cooking instead.
A serious peanut-allergen warning
Please read this carefully before cooking for guests. Unrefined and cold-pressed groundnut (peanut) oil retains peanut proteins. That means it is not safe for anyone with a peanut allergy.
This is the opposite of highly refined peanut oil, which has had those proteins largely removed during refining. Our oil is unrefined by design, so the proteins remain. If you are cooking for someone who may have a peanut allergy, do not use this oil and do not assume it behaves like a refined supermarket peanut oil.
Storing it well
Unrefined oils oxidise faster than refined ones, so a little care keeps yours tasting fresh.
- Keep it somewhere cool, dark and sealed, away from the hob, sunlight and air.
- Close the cap firmly after each use to limit contact with air.
- Once opened, use it within a few months while the aroma is at its best.
Buying a size you will get through comfortably is the simplest way to enjoy the oil at its freshest.
Sources
- Peanut oil & allergen, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_oil
- Smoke points, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Smoke_point_of_cooking_oils
Related reading: How to choose a cooking oil.