Groundnut Oil vs Peanut Oil: Difference and Comparison

Oil is a common household name and is part of every individual’s diet. Each person consumes varying amounts of oil depending on their diet.

The amount of oil consumed has a direct impact on heart health. Different oils contain monounsaturated, trans, and polyunsaturated fats. People are currently consuming more healthy oils and fewer fatty oils.

Key Takeaways

1. Groundnut oil and peanut oil refer to the same oil extracted from peanuts, so there is no actual difference between the two.
2. The oil is known by different names in different regions, with “groundnut oil” being more common in some countries and “peanut oil” in others.
3. Peanut or groundnut oil is popular in cooking for its high smoke point, mild flavor, and health benefits due to its monounsaturated fat content.

Groundnut Oil vs Peanut Oil

Groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable-derived oil made from the edible seeds of the peanut plant. Though the peanut plant flowers above ground, the seeds or peanuts actually develop underground. Peanut oil is the oil from the seed of the peanut plant (Arachis hypogaea). Peanut oil is used in cooking and is also used to make medicine. 

The oil from groundnuts is a type of vegetable oil. There are beans and nuts in this oil originating from the Fabaceae family.

These nuts are nutrient-rich, making the oil very beneficial for health. It is used in cooking, frying, making margarine, and shortenings. It has no such aroma and has a deep ochre color.

Peanut oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the peanut plant’s edible seeds. Peanuts are a type of legume that is related to peas and beans. Depending on how it is processed, peanut oil can have a variety of flavors, ranging from mild and sweet and nutty.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Groundnut Oil	Peanut Oil
Introduction	It is cooking oil made of various groundnuts and legumes.	It is a cooking oil made of peanuts, a type of groundnut.
Flavor	It has a rich and distinctive taste.	The oil has a moderate or neutral flavor.
Aroma	It has no such aroma.	It is has a rich aroma because of roasting.
Other use	It is used in the making of soap using saponification.	Its usage in body massaging is well-known.
Composition	It contains monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.	It contains Oleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidic acid, lignoceric acid and others.

What is Groundnut Oil?

Groundnut is a large family of various plant oilseeds of different names. This term can refer to solid, flavorful, and oily dry seeds, such as Arachis, Bambara groundnut, and Hausa groundnut.

Groundnuts are a group of oilseed plants used by humans and animals. Groundnuts serve as cooking oil or herbal supplements.

The oil has a bountiful or coarse flavor. A variety of cuisines use it for cooking, including American, Chinese, Indian, African, and Southeast Asian.

Groundnut oil production is a lengthy and complicated procedure with numerous steps. Groundnut processing, pressing, extraction, and crude refining are the main procedures. Its making includes different types of groundnut seeds and fewer chemicals.

Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) make up around 80% of groundnut oil, whereas saturated fatty acids make up 20%. (SFA). The oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as linoleic acid.

When you mention groundnut or include it in a meal recipe, you’re referring to peanuts, other nuts, or even tuber roots containing beans eaten raw, cooked, or made into a dietary supplement for human animals.

Groundnuts are immensely popular in Nigeria and throughout Africa.

What is Peanut Oil?

There are many different kinds of peanut oil available. Their production methods may vary. Refined oil doesn’t cause peanut allergies.

Oil pressed from crushed peanuts is known as cold-pressed oil. Peanut oil used in gourmet snacks consists of unprocessed toasted peanut oil.

Blends can be created by mixing peanut oil with a less expensive but similar-tasting oil, such as soybean oil. The consumer is likely to find this kind of oil cheaper and sells in large quantities for frying foods.

The most common monounsaturated fat in peanut oil is oleic acid or omega-9. It also contains a significant amount of linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, as well as a small amount of palmitic acid, a saturated fat.

Peanut oil is high in omega-6 fats, which are harmful to health. Because of their predisposition for generating inflammation, these fats create some health problems.

Because of the high amount of monounsaturated fat in this oil, it’s ideal for frying and other high-heat cooking methods. It does, however, contain a significant quantity of polyunsaturated fat, which degrades at high temperatures.

Peanut oil is prominent in Chinese, South Asian, and Southeast Asian cuisines. During World War II, when other oils were in short supply due to food shortages, they became more popular in the United States.

Main Difference Between Groundnut Oil and Peanut Oil

1. Groundnut oil is a type of cooking oil manufactured from groundnuts and legumes. Peanut oil is a cooking oil derived from groundnuts such as peanuts.
2. The flavor of groundnut oil is rich and robust. Peanut oil has a mild to medium flavor.
3. There is no definite aroma of groundnut oil. Because of the roasting, peanut oil has a strong scent.
4. Groundnut oil is used in the saponification process to make soap. Peanut oil derived is a good body massage.
5. The oil comes from groundnuts, and its fatty acids are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. The fatty acids in peanut oil are oleic acid, linoleic acid, arachidic acid, lignoceric acid.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021863405801362
2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejlt.200900176

Last Updated : 25 July, 2023