With verities of cooking oils available on the market, it’s hard to know which ones are best for your health. Peanut oil, also referred to as 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. This is why peanuts are also known as groundnuts. It comes in a number of varieties, including refined, unrefined, roasted, and cold-pressed, which have slight differences in their nutritional value and health benefits. Peanut oil is most commonly used in Asian cultures, including that of China and Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Peanut Oil