|
Saturday, 13 June 2009 |
|
 Red Palm Oil is an orange to red vegetable oil with a distinctively delicious flavour made from the juicy pulp of the African oil palm tree fruit called Elaeis guineensis.
It grows freely and widely through out Africa. It is the highest oil producing tree known to man. The fruit is no larger than grape fruits, but has a central nut, the palm kernel (which is used in making palm kernel oil) enclosed by the soft juicy pulp (from which the red oil is made).
This oil is red due to its very high content of beta-carotene – the same agent that gives carrot its colour, and known to protect humans from many cancers and heart diseases.
When boiled for a few minutes, the beta-carotene is oxidized, leaving the oil while or any shade thereof, depending on how much it is allowed to oxidize.
Palm oil is the richest edible oil known to man!
Oil from this palm fruit is a commonly used ingredient in preparing many authentic traditional African foods.
It has a lovely uniquely strong flavour.
This highly nutritious cooking natural oil is used all across tropical Africa, especially in West Africa, the Caribbean, and South America in making various dishes.
It "is the most widely produced edible oil", reports the Wikipedia Encyclopaedia.
In Brazil, it is known as the dende oil. If you are looking for the Brazilian dende oil, you have come to the right place. This West African prototype is however thicker than the Brazilian one because this palm oil from Africa is not diluted.
Have not used it before? Why not try it?
It is commonly used in preparing:
* Egusi Soup
* Ogbono Soup
* Palm Oil Stew
* Moi-Moi
* Boiled beans dish
* Palm vegetable soup
* Ndole
* Palm Oil Chop
* Moambe’Sauce amongst others.
Apart from use in soups, this red oil from the African palm tree is also used in making margarine, soap, candles, chocolates and cosmetics.
It is called Zomi especially in Ghana.
It has also found usefulness in many manufacturing process.
For political reasons, the use of oil from palm fruit is not been promoted in the western world, reports the Times Magazine.
It is never-the-less finding renewed relevance, buoyed by concerns about climate change and need for development of renewable fuel source, giving the very high yield of palm oil in provision of bio-fuels.
An emerging use of this oil in many countries now is its use in production of bio-diesel. This is because when processed, palm oil has the same properties as diesel, and can be used in driving diesel engines.
The Oil palm fruit originated from West Africa. It has helped in restructuring the political landscape amongst the Urhobos and Itsekiris of Delta state of Nigeria up to this day.
It is said that as early as 5000 years ago, oil made from palm fruit was already known in Egypt.
Today, Malaysia is the Word’s largest producer of oil from palm fruit. THE END
Source: African Foods |
Comments
You must javascript enabled to use this form
You are not authorized to leave comments. Please
Login first.
If you are not a member, please register
here.
