corn oil

a pale-yellow, water-insoluble liquid oil obtained by expressing the germs of corn kernels, used in the preparation of foodstuffs, lubricants, soaps, and hair dressings. Also called maize oil.

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▪ food

      edible oil obtainable from the seeds (kernels) of corn (maize), valued for its bland flavour and light colour.

      The oil constitutes about half of the germ (embryo) of the corn kernel, which is separated from the rest of the kernel during the operation of milling to produce meal, animal feed, hominy, breakfast foods, or other edible solids. The corn germ is dried in a kiln, and the oil is extracted by either a hydraulic or a screw press; the pressed cake is further treated by washing it with a solvent, ordinarily hexane, and the dissolved oil is recovered by evaporating the solvent. The oil cake remaining after solvent extraction is ground and used as an animal fodder known as hominy feed.

      Corn oil is used almost entirely for food. It is favoured as a salad and frying oil because it contains little cholesterol; large quantities of it are converted into margarine by hydrogenation, a process in which the oil is combined with hydrogen at high temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst.

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