This steampunk machine helps anyone make their own cooking oil at home
Property & Construction
Taiwan's The Daily Expeller is a machine that helps anyone turn nuts and seeds into their own custom oils.
In an era when learning a new skill is often simply a case of loading up a tutorial video on YouTube, it's no wonder that craft and homemade goods are starting to provide healthy competition against mass produced items. Consumers are already creating their own authentic homebrews or selling their wares on Etsy. But there are some products that remain elusive. How the heck does the average person go about making their own cooking oil, for example? Well, Taiwan's The Daily Expeller is a machine that helps anyone turn nuts and seeds into their own custom oils.
A graduate project of a group of students at the National Cheng Kung University’s Department of Industrial Design, The Daily Expeller looks a lot like an insane piece of lab equipment, and that's partly because it is. It's a miniature version of the large expellers used in industry.
Using it is a bit more simple — after placing whatever blend of nuts or seeds the user likes into the bottom compartment, the ingredients are gently heated and then grinded using a lever on the side. Boiling water is then added to make the ingredients moist before they're transferred to the second chamber. Turning the crank then creates enough pressure to squeeze any oil out of the nuts. Users can get 20cc of oil out of 100g of nuts.
Although the process is fairly lengthy considering the amount of oil that's produced, it's no more complicated than making a coffee from grounds. Artisans can enjoy their own custom oils and avoid buying from the supermarket.
Watch the video below to see the device in action:
Are there other foods or beverages that could be made at home by redesigning industrial equipment for home use?
12th December 2014
Website: www.ide.ncku.edu.tw