Corn oil is one of those vegetable oils that not a lot of people tend to use in their home cooking; most people tend to stick to the oils they are most familiar with, like vegetable or sunflower oil.
However, not only is corn oil surprisingly delicious and versatile, but it also has a high smoke point, making it perfect for use in frying high-temperature foods like fries.
But since corn oil isn’t typically sold in most supermarkets, why not learn how to make it yourself instead?
How Can I Use My Homemade Corn Oil?
Corn oil can be used in place of any other kind of vegetable oil in pretty much any recipe. While it does have a slight corny flavor, it works well in both sweet and savory applications, making it just as versatile as regular vegetable oil.
Use it to fry fries, bake cakes, or even just grease tins to help prevent sticking!
What Kind Of Special Equipment Do I Need To Make Corn Oil?
Making corn oil, or any kind of oil for that matter, really only requires you to have some way to press the solids and extract the liquids, and then separate them to retrieve the oil.
This means that you need something to crush up the corn kernels – an oil press works best, but a food processor or a grinding attachment to a stand mixer works just as well.
From there, you just need a strainer to catch the solids, water to help facilitate the oil leeching, and enough patience to wait for the oil to separate out!
Ingredients
4 ears of Corn
8 cups of Water
How To Make Homemade Corn Oil
Step 1 – Cut all of the corn kernels off of your corn using a sharp, serrated knife.
Step 2 – Grind the corn using either an oil extractor, a grain press, or just a food processor on a low setting.
Step 3 – Soak the now-ground corn in warm water and leave for 2 days, to allow the oil to leech out from the corn mash.
Step 4 – Strain the corn solids from the liquid, and set the water aside for 12-24 hours, or until a fine layer of oil floats to the top.
Step 5 – Skim the oil from the water surface, either by using a gravy separator, or just a ladle, and then store your corn oil in a sealed container for up to 6 months.
Troubleshooting Tips
• One thing you might struggle with is the tendency of the corn to not very easily separate out from the solids. You might find yourself with a damp, mushy mash of corn and water, with no oil. To help ensure that the oil leeches out of the corn, try and use warm water, at least room temperature, to help encourage the oil to flow, but most importantly, you need to give it enough time to leech out. Try waiting a day and then coming back before worrying that what you’re doing isn’t working.
• Cutting corn kernels off of an ear of corn is one of those things that looks like it should be super easy, but frequently is a lot more trouble than it first seemed. To make it easy, stand the corn on its end, and grip the tip of it with a paper towel to help give you sufficient purchase. From there, slice the corn kernels off using a steady sawing motion with a serrated knife, and the corn pieces should fall right off!
• If after waiting a good amount of time and it seems like you have no oil appearing on top of your water, you might need to just add more corn. Keep in mind that each individual corn kernel only holds a really tiny amount of oil, so it can take quite a lot to be able to make enough oil for this to be worth it.
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Nutritional Facts
For the health-conscious out there, here are the nutritional details for 1 tablespoon of Corn Oil.
Calories: 122
Total Fat: 13.6 grams
Saturated Fat: 1.75 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 0 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates: 0 grams
Dietary Fiber: 0 grams
Sugars: 0 grams
Protein: 0 gram
Potassium: 0 milligrams
FAQs
If you start to notice that your corn oil is beginning to smell, whether when it’s still in the water separating, or in its container after processing it, the oil might be starting to go rancid. If it gets a sickly sweet, rancid-fat-like smell, then your corn might have been bad, to begin with, and probably the best thing you can do with it is to throw it out.
After making your very own homemade corn oil, you should be left with a big pile of damp corn mash. Don’t throw this away, though! While it would definitely make for some good compost, you could also grind it a bit more to turn it into cornmeal and use it to make some delicious cornbread! It will also make a really great bird feed if you’re a fan of feathered friends in your backyard.
Some recipes for corn oil call for soaking the corn before you actually grind it. This is really only needed if you are using dried ears of corn, but most people buying corn from the supermarket will be able to get their hands on some fresh corn. If you are stuck with dried ears of corn, though, feel free to soak your cut-off corn kernels in some water for around 2 hours to help make the grinding process easier
How to Make Homemade Corn Oil
Ingredients
4 ears of Corn
8 cups of Water
Instructions
Step 1 – Cut all of the corn kernels off of your corn using a sharp, serrated knife.
Step 2 – Grind the corn using either an oil extractor, a grain press, or just a food processor on a low setting.
Step 3 – Soak the now-ground corn in warm water and leave for 2 days, to allow the oil to leech out from the corn mash.
Step 4 – Strain the corn solids from the liquid, and set the water aside for 12-24 hours, or until a fine layer of oil floats to the top.
Step 5 – Skim the oil from the water surface, either by using a gravy separator, or just a ladle, and then store your corn oil in a sealed container for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 teaspoon
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