RED PALM OIL: HOW TO BUY, STORE AND USE IT
RED PALM OIL : HOW TO BUY, STORE AND USE IT: Recent news about red palm oil has been mixed, with some positive stories and some negative. It has been hailed as a miracle ingredient, heart-healthy, and rich in antioxidants. It’s also been denounced as a global scourge on orangutans, or as a menace to Borneo’s rainforest.
What is the issue with red palm oil, then? What’s it and where’s its origin?
ORIGINS IN AFRICA
Africans living in western and central Africa have been pressing and straining the fruit of the African oil palm (Elaesis guineensis) for millennia in order to obtain the pulp’s rich reddish-brown oil. With its rich, smoky flavor, this red palm oil is used for frying as well as seasoning soups, stews, and beans from West Africa. It’s been claimed that red palm oil is to African cooking what butter is to the North of Europe and olive oil is to the Mediterranean.
West Africans brought their gastronomic customs to tropical regions of South America and the Caribbean through the slave trade. One of the main ingredients of Brazilian Bahian cuisine is red palm oil, or dendê (DEN-deh) in Portuguese.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF RED PALM OIL
Red palm oil’s potential health benefits have received a lot of attention. Although it is undoubtedly exaggerated, palm oil’s rusty-orange color is attributed to high concentrations of potent antioxidants such as lycopene and beta-carotene. Additionally rich in “good” mono-unsaturated fats and vitamin E, unrefined palm oil has significant concentrations of both. It is cholesterol-free as well.
Still, fat is fat, and a teaspoon of fat has many calories. As with other fats and oils, the best course of action is to utilize it sparingly in the end.
RED PALM OIL VS. PALM KERNEL OIL VS. COCONUT OIL
Understanding the distinctions between two varieties of oil derived from the same tree is crucial. The good stuff is red palm oil, which is made from the succulent pulp of the palm oil fruit. However, the nutty kernel at the middle of the same palm oil fruit is mechanically extracted to produce palm kernel oil, which is a clear, faintly flavored oil.
Palm kernel oil is inexpensive and has a long shelf life; it’s used for buttering cinema popcorn and baking items. Compared to its more colorful brother, palm kernel oil has far more harmful saturated fats and lacks antioxidant properties. For this reason, if at all possible, stay away from palm kernel oil.
PALM OIL, SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Unhealthy trans fats have been gradually eliminated from processed foods by a number of food manufacturers in recent years. An advantageous thing, surely? As an alternative, palm kernel oil is being used by a large number of those same producers. In Indonesia and Malaysia, vast tracts of rainforest have been cleared to create room for massive oil palm plantations. The ensuing environmental devastation is pushing away already fragile species, like orangutans, and endangering a part of the world that is biologically rich.
As a result, it pays to compare prices and get red palm oil from a supplier that employs sustainable agricultural and harvesting methods.
HOW TO BUY AND STORE RED PALM OIL
Red palm oil is available in most African, Caribbean, Brazilian, and Middle Eastern markets. Online ordering is another option. Similar to olive oil, if possible, choose virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined red palm oil. Refining removes many of the ingredients that give palm oil its health advantages while also giving the oil a lighter hue and softer flavor.
When kept in your pantry, palm oil remains fresh for a considerable amount of time and is solid at room temperature. Its shelf life can be increased by keeping it in the refrigerator if you won’t be using it frequently.
HOW TO USE RED PALM OIL
Red palm oil is adored and used in quantities that would make most Westerners gasp in West Africa. Fortunately, significantly lower amounts can be used to modify foods. Use red palm oil in the kitchen just like you would olive oil. Drizzle it over beans and vegetables, or mix a dollop or two into soups and stews to give another layer of flavor.
Red palm oil is perfect for sautéing and frying because of its high smoke point. You may laugh at the idea of deep-frying with just palm oil because of its higher cost. To add a bit of palm oil’s color and flavor to deep-fried items without the expense, try diluting it with a less expensive, neutral oil.
