Inside a Corn Oil Factory: Thousands of Corn Cobs Turned Into Premium Golden Oil

A corn kernel is only about 4% fat, so how does corn become one of the biggest cooking oils in America? The secret is one tiny part of the kernel. Follow the full journey from combine to bottle in this look at agriculture technology. In this video from Green Harvest Discovery, we follow a single kernel of corn from the field to the bottle: harvest, the long soak, germ separation, pressing, refining and bottling. It is a closer look at the agriculture technology behind everyday corn oil. WHAT YOU'LL SEE Modern corn harvest: combines, grain carts and trucks, agriculture technology in the field The long warm soak that loosens the kernel How machines free the oil-rich germ, agriculture technology at factory scale Pressing and solvent extraction, then refining step by step Bottling, packing, and why almost nothing from the kernel is thrown away QUICK FACTS (approximate, from the Corn Refiners Association booklet "Corn Oil", 5th edition, 2006) An average corn kernel is about 4.3% fat (range about 3.1% to 5.7%). The germ is about 11.5% of the kernel by weight and holds about 85% of the oil. Dried germ from wet milling is about 45% to 50% oil. A screw press recovers a little more than half of the oil. Solvent extraction brings the total to about 95%. Refining steps: degumming (in some refineries), alkali neutralizing, bleaching, winterization and deodorizing under vacuum at about 232 to 260 degrees Celsius. U.S. corn oil production was about 2.5 billion pounds in 2004, compared with about 18.7 billion pounds of soybean oil. These figures are from 2004 and may have changed. CHAPTERS 00:00 A kernel that is only 4% fat 00:41 The harvest 02:06 The long soak 02:56 Freeing the germ 04:01 Pressing the oil 04:58 Refining 06:37 Bottling 07:17 The big picture 07:52 Thanks for watching If you enjoy seeing how everyday foods are made, subscribe to Green Harvest Discovery for more agriculture technology stories from farm to factory. Did you know most of the oil sits in the germ? Tell us in the comments which food you want us to follow from farm to factory next. Some scenes are illustrative stock or AI-assisted footage and may not show the exact plants described. #CornOil #HowItsMade #CookingOil #CornHarvest #FoodProcessing #FarmToTable #Documentary