Pennsylvania cooperative aims to press 300 gallons of hickory nut oil this year

Residents in the Oley Township area can begin purchasing locally pressed hickory nut oil on November 9. Third Place Processing, a new facility in Oley, will start selling 6.7-ounce bottles of the oil for $26.99. The company is part of a growing network of Pennsylvania growers trying to replace imported oils with a native crop.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that American vegetable oil imports cost $10.9 billion in 2022. In 2024, global production of these oils relied on 364 million hectares of cropland, which is close to 20 percent of the world's total. The Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative, which launched in March 2024, aims to produce 300 gallons of hickory nut oil this year. That is a significant jump from the 50 to 55 gallons pressed from last year's harvest and the five to six gallons collected in the cooperative's first year.

Brian Nana-Sinkam, head of product at Third Place Processing, stated that the group is currently the only organization doing this at a local scale. He noted that bitternut hickory trees are a staple oil crop on the East Coast that has been largely ignored. Nana-Sinkam said the oil has a flavor profile similar to olive oil and is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. His colleague, Matt Holt, described the taste as buttery and mellow. The oil has a high smoke point, making it suitable for cooking.

A gathering event held in mid-October in a parking lot near a roadside forest in Oley involved about 25 people collecting nuts. Sam Geesaman, orchard lead at Bloom Farm, organized the event. He said he expected fewer attendees and was pleased by the turnout. Participants searched for brown-green hulls among fallen leaves and dirt. The group collected nearly 30 pounds of nuts during the event.

Don English, director of the Keystone Tree Crop Cooperative, said the group plans to build aggregator hubs across the state. These hubs will allow gatherers to deposit their nuts in exchange for cash or oil for personal use. Andrea Ferich, the cooperative's marketing director, operates a hub in Western Pennsylvania. She recently held a gathering in Blair County where she educated attendees on identifying yellowbud hickories. Ferich said that connecting with community and having a hobby that produces income are key motivators for participants.

Third Place Processing opened earlier this year and houses four oil presses. The brothers who started Bloom Farm in 2023, Brian and Sam Nana-Sinkam, opened the facility. They use a roller mill designed by Levi Geyer of Fancy Twig Farm in Parnell, Iowa. Geyer presses 50 to 100 gallons of hickory nut oil annually. He sells his oil for $240 per gallon, a price driven by the labor-intensive process of pressing rather than chemical extraction. Geyer said controlling the full process has given him a path to existing as a farmer.

The high price of local hickory oil is attributed to the time required for wild foraging and manual pressing. Nana-Sinkam said prices should decrease as mature orchards replace foraging, though that may take several years. Holt suggested that getting the oil into the hands of chefs who feature it on menus could help spread public awareness. At the Oley event, attendees tasted the oil and found it mild and pleasant. Emma Smith, a local resident, said she drives by the forest often and did not know it was rich in hickory nuts.