Many housewives press peanut oil and sesame oil for use.

Recently, the demand for peanut, sesame and soybean oil pressing in localities has increased. Some oil pressing facilities have to work overtime and recruit more workers to meet the needs of the people.

"A lot of people bring peanuts to be pressed. Before, we only pressed for a few households in the area, pressing them for retail sale on the market, but now, the number of people bringing peanuts, beans, and sesame to be pressed is very large. There are days when we press 4-5 tons of raw materials for dozens of households, working from dawn to late at night to finish. Normally, only a husband and wife do it, but now we have to hire more workers to meet the demand," said Mr. Nguyen Huu Duong, owner of an oil pressing facility in Dong Loc commune (former Nghi Loc).

Having been involved in the oil pressing profession for many years, Mr. Nguyen Hung (Thien Nhan commune) said that he has never witnessed the demand for local oil pressing increase as much as recently.Explaining this trend, according to Mr. Hung, due to concerns about the quality of some cooking oils on the market, many families have chosen to buy their own raw materials and bring them to reputable facilities to press for oil, in order to proactively control the quality and ensure safety for daily meals.

"Many households press large quantities to send to relatives far away. Our peanut oil products have been awarded the OCOP star, so the market also favors them. Many agents place orders for retail sale. Therefore, these days, we often have to work overtime," Mr. Hung added.

According to the process, peanuts are dried, dried, then peeled, broken and broken seeds are selected before being put into the press. After being pressed, the oil will be put into an air compressor to remove residue. According to a survey, the current price of peanuts is about 500,000 VND/nest, each pressed peanut nest can produce about 5 liters of oil.

The price is therefore around 100,000 - 120,000 VND/liter, 2-3 times higher than industrial cooking oil sold on the market (only 150,000 - 200,000 VND/5 liter can). Sesame oil is even more expensive than peanut oil, ranging from 200,000 - 220,000 VND/liter.

Another current "trend" is that many people choose to use lard in their daily cooking instead of refined cooking oil. Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa, a housewife in Dai Dong commune (former Thanh Chuong district), said: "Recently, when authorities discovered cases of counterfeit cooking oil, many consumers returned to using lard because they felt it was safer."

This trend has pushed up the price of lard in traditional markets, currently ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 VND/kg. According to Ms. Kim Dung, a business specializing in processing lard in Vinh Phu Ward (old Vinh City), previously, clean lard was mainly bought by mothers to prepare weaning food for their young children, but now many families buy it for daily meals.

The trend of returning to traditional methods of pressing oil from peanuts, sesame, soybeans or choosing lard for cooking is spreading. However, consumers also need to be alert in choosing ingredients, choosing reputable processing facilities and mastering preservation methods.