Wooden-press oil
A provincial-level intangible cultural heritage of Anhui, it refers to the ancient oil-pressing craft handed down in southern Anhui. Using purely physical low-temperature pressing and more than ten entirely manual steps—selecting the seeds, roasting them, steaming the meal, ramming the press, and so on—it preserves the oil's original flavor and character to the greatest extent.
Overview & Materials
Overview
Overview and Materials
At the heart of a wooden-press oil workshop lies a horizontal press trough carved from a single century-old maple trunk. Rapeseed or camellia seeds are roasted, ground, steamed, and wrapped into cakes, then stood upright in the trough. Workers swing a heavy ram to drive in wedges, squeezing the oil out under pure muscle power.The layout of the workshop is dictated directly by the sequence of the pressing stages — see Architecture and Space → Workshop Spaces. The sound of the press is among the most important sonic material gathered in the field.
Process
Sorting the seeds
Plump camellia or rapeseed seeds are picked out by hand.
Roasting the seeds
The seeds are roasted in a large wok over the stove; the heat of the fire decides the oil's aroma.
Dialect · 火候
Grinding into meal
A water-powered mill grinds the roasted seeds into a fine meal.
Steaming the meal
The meal is steamed in a wooden steamer; only once the steam rises through it can the cakes be wrapped.
Wrapping the cakes
The cakes are wrapped in rice straw — speed is everything before they cool.
Pressing with the ram
The heavy ram is swung to drive in the wedges, and the oil seeps from the press trough.
Dialect · 撞榨People & Oral History
Full interviews, transcripts and translations are in the Field Archive.
Status & Data
Challenges
Yields fall short of machine pressing and labor costs are high; the workshop survives on its loyal regulars. Swinging the ram is grueling physical work, and no young people are willing to learn the craft.
My field notes
The thud of the ram is remarkably powerful; we recorded it as audio. See Field Archive → Sounds and Dialects.
Related: Workers & Income · Field Archive