Groundnut oil has always been a favourite medium for daily cooking. In all cooking styles, it is sufficiently pleasing to the taste buds. This oil is a good source of protein and fibre and is a healthy alternative to other fats like vegetable ghee. Due to its very high smoke point, this oil is ideal for deep frying and cooking at high temperatures. History of groundnut oil Regarding its origin, South Americans cultivated groundnuts or peanuts. Later, it spread to Europe, Africa, and in Asia including countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. The credit for bringing groundnut to India goes to the Spanish. It reached from South America to East Asia and from here to Tamil Nadu in India and on the east coast of Andhra Pradesh. In India, especially in the South, cold-pressed groundnut oil has been a common cooking medium for many centuries, until it was replaced by refined oils. But refined oil undergoes chemical processing which destroys the natural nutrients of groundnut oil. It is called groundnut oil or Arachis oil and is a type of vegetable oil commonly known as cooking oil derived from groundnut. It comes in several varieties like unrefined, roasted, refined, and cold-pressed, depending on slight differences in the preparation process and nutritional or health benefits.