A History of Cooking Oil Cooking oil has been one of the main ingredients in every kitchen since time immemorial. Many researchers believe that the processing of vegetable oils began more than a thousand years ago. At that time the vegetable oil was made from whatever food material for cooking purposes was available.
In general cooking oil belongs to edible oils and it can be any kind of vegetable oil that can be eaten. Different edible oils such as sunflower, peanut, palms, olive, etc. are all cooking oils but have different tastes and uses. These vegetable oils are mainly extracted from the seeds and using the best oil press machine could very well help in that. Here, we are going to see a brief history of cooking oil and its evolution over the years. Moreover, we’ll also have a quick sneak-peek into how different countries accept cooking oil and mild it according to its use.
A glance at the timeline of cooking oil Although there is no exact date available, it is believed that humans started using animal fat around 25000 BC right after they discovered fire. And just like other seasonings and food items, cooking oil was too discovered over the course of time. In the initial days, vegetable oils were not refined like today. But with time, new technologies like today’s cold press oil machine were introduced. These innovative machines helped in extracting different types of the same oils like for example olive oil comes in virgin, pomace, extra virgin, and extra light forms. The new age oil press machines also helped humans to create cooking oil such as watermelon seeds, grapeseed, and more. Along with the cooking oil from vegetables, the Chinese and Japanese created soy oils as well that are relevant and used even today as vegetable oils in many countries.
When did different countries got introduced to cooking oil? European countries are believed to have been using cooking oil since 4000 BC when olive oil was first introduced in different parts of the regions. Meanwhile in different countries such as Mexico and other parts of the North American continent, a cooking oil that was produced floated on the surface of the water and was skimmed in nature. Moreover, in North America and Mexico, people roasted the sunflower seeds and peanuts and crushed them to make a paste-like mixture for further usage.