Of all the products Catania Oils offers, one of the most popular and versatile is corn oil. Neutral in taste with a high smoke point and relatively low cost compared to alternatives, it’s easy to see why corn oil is in high demand in commercial kitchens and food manufacturing.
In this segment of Chronicle, reporter Ted Reinstein visits the Catania Oils production facility to take a deeper look at how corn oil is created, from refining in the Midwest to processing and packaging at Catania Oils.
Before any corn oil reaches the Catania Oils facility, it is grown, milled, and refined, typically in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. From there, Catania Oils steps in to coordinate its cross-country journey and prepare the oil for cooking applications through additional testing and processing.
Transporting thousands of gallons of corn oil from the Midwest to Catania Oils' facility in Ayer requires careful logistics. The oil travels in trains blanketed with nitrogen to preserve freshness during transit. Catania Oils' own rail yard is the final stop for these locomotives, allowing the oil to be delivered directly to the facility. This door-to-door system is a major advantage, providing an efficient means to transport and unload large quantities of oil. Onsite rail infrastructure is just one example of the operational innovations Catania Oils has developed to support its growth over generations.
Catania Oils is committed to providing authentic, high quality products. Each batch of oil - regardless of type - undergoes quality testing by a team of chemists in the company's state-of-the-art laboratory upon arrival. There, samples are tested to ensure they meet strict standards of purity, flavor, and even color before moving to the next phase of processing.
This attention to quality is a defining feature of Catania Oils’ approach. Whether it’s corn oil, olive oil, or any oil blend, Catania Oils prioritizes quality at every stage, from train cars designed to preserve freshness during travel, to precise laboratory testing, to rigorous production standards and beyond.
As a fourth-generation family owned business, Catania Oils has been committed to providing high-quality, authentic products since it was founded in 1900, when Giuseppe Basile first began selling olive oil door to door in Boston’s North End. Though the company has grown and evolved significantly in the generations since, it continues to be guided by the principles it was founded on 125 years ago.
Watch this segment for a deeper look at how Catania Oils helps bring oil to kitchens and food manufacturers.