Corn oil has a similar origin story to that of corn starch since both products resulted from the inventions of one man: Thomas Kingsford, a British immigrant who came up with a process for wet milling corn.
The wet milling process, invented by Thomas Kingsford in 1842, was critical to the origin of commercially manufactured oil and starch from corn. Before Kingsford’s inventions, corn was not considered a good source of starch or oil. Thomas Kingsford working at Wm. Colgate & Company in Jersey City, NJ, convinced his employer to try a new alkali process for extracting starch from corn.
The first commercial corn oil for cooking purposes was extracted in 1898 and 1899. The machine of corn oil was invented by Benjamin Hudnut and Theodore Hudnut which belongs to the Hudnut Hominy Company of Indiana that is used to extract corn oil during that period.
Theodore devoted at least seven years to perfecting machines to crush Indian corn or maize into cereal. Hudnut opened his first plant in Edinburgh, Ind., near Louisville, in 1852. He closed that mill to serve as a lieutenant in the 19th Indiana Regiment Indiana during the Civil War before returning home in 1864.
During the war, Hudnut opened mills in Indianapolis and Mattoon, Ill. In 1872, with assistance from Terre Haute banker John S. Beach, Hudnut opened another mill in Hod Smith’s former grain warehouse at the northwest corner of Third and Chestnut streets.
Hudnut and his son Benjamin patented the process and machinery for extracting oil from grain. The Hudnuts’ corn oil product was marketed as Mazoil and was first marketed in 1899. Theodore continued to improve the efficiency of his equipment. Experiments to upgrade the quality of the final product continued until Theodore’s death. The oil was an attractive option to animal-based oils because of its shelf life. It would grow in popularity but would not become a national household staple until the 1960s.
Mazoil was an odorless but transparent golden liquid which gained instant acceptance for cooking. Local Hudnut mills sold one gallon retail containers for 75 cents each; 75-gallon packages were available to wholesalers. In the 1950s, scientists found out that the corn oil is also helpful in reducing serum cholesterol levels in humans.
History extraction of corn oil
