14 BULLETIN 904, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



film. Its use in paint, therefore, has been limited to the cheap 

 grades of bam paints, when combined with other and better drying 

 oils. This use is also rapidly declining and will no doubt be entirely 

 discontinued if the price of the oil remains high. 



When corn oil was first produced in marketable quantities it was 

 used exclusively for technical purposes. Gradually, however, as 

 refining methods were improved and the demand for edible oils 

 increased, the oil was diverted to edible purposes until at present 

 probably 75 per cent of the total output is utilized in that way. It 

 is in demand for practically all purposes for which cottonseed oil is 

 used, and the producers, brokers, and refiners are confident that in 

 time all the corn oil of good quality will be used for edible purposes. 



The shortage and the high price of olive oil during recent years 

 have served to stimulate the use of other vegetable oils for salad-oil 

 purposes, and corn oil is being sold in increasing quantities to meet 

 this demand. In line with this development its use in cookery has 

 also been increased. The sale of refined corn oil for household 

 purposes is at present limited almost entirely to a few firms. 



Corn oil can be heated to a relatively high temperature without 

 smoking or developing an odor and does not darken as readily as 

 some other edible oils. In this connection it may be mentioned 

 that there is a conviction that in cookery it is more economical to 

 use liquid fats than solid fats, because there is less waste. It is 

 easier to measure the necessary quantity when the material pours 

 than when it is solid; consequently excess fat is more easily avoided. 



There seems to be some difference of opinion among bakers regard- 

 ing the adaptability of corn oil for shortening in crackers and bakery 

 goods. The refined oil is used to some extent for this purpose and 

 is said to give results similar to those obtained with cottonseed oil. 

 Some bakers are inclined to believe that its use is limited because 

 of its yellow color, such color being undesirable in the manufacture 

 of white goods like soda crackers. For sweet goods the oil is usually 

 used blended with other vegetable oils. In bread it is also used by 

 some bakers when mixed with lard. 



The general impression gained from interviews with large bakers 

 is that the future of refined corn oil in the baking industries is assured. 

 The principal reason why it is not used more generally at present 

 is because it is not obtainable at all times in sufficient quantities. 

 The bulk of the refined oil is marketed as package goods for the 

 retail. trade; therefore for the bakers only such quantities are avail- 

 able as are not needed to satisfy the retail demands. A consider- 

 able increase in the production of the refined od could no doubt 

 easily be absorbed in this field provided the price compared favor- 

 ably with that of other oils suitable for the same purpose. 



