Peanut oil
mild-tasting vegetable oil derived from peanuts
Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable oil derived from peanuts. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is commonly used in numerous cuisines worldwide, both for general cooking and for added flavor. Peanut oil has a high smoke point relative to many other cooking oils, so is favorable for frying foods.
History
Due to war shortages of other oils, the use of readily available peanut oil increased in the United States during World War II.
Production
In 2023, world production of peanut oil (reported as groundnut oil) was 6.4 million tonnes, led by India and China with 64% of the total when combined (table). Nigeria and Myanmar were secondary producers.
Uses
Unrefined peanut oil is used as a flavorant for dishes akin to sesame oil. Refined peanut oil is commonly used for frying volume batches of foods like French fries and has a smoke point of 450 °F/232 °C.
Unrefined peanut oil is commonly used for cooking due to its natural flavor and nutritional benefits. It's also used in skincare products for its moisturizing properties.
Unrefined peanut oil is often used in salad dressings and marinades for its rich, nutty taste.
The public source identifies “Peanut oil” as mild-tasting vegetable oil derived from peanuts. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Peanut, mild-tasting and vegetable.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q265878. The Library of Congress control number is sh85098998. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023.
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This entry incorporates text from “Peanut oil” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.