What is palm oil?

Palm oil is everywhere, especially in many of the processed foods that we eat from instant noodles to chocolate. It may not be easy to distinguish as an ingredient, but it is a great oil that connects well with other ingredients and can be used in many ways. Some cooks find palm oil to roast, others use it instead of Rapeseed or other vegetable oils Bake.

But there is some confusion about the use and nutrition of these ingredients, partly because it was used for so many different purposes, but also partly because of its procurement. The bright reddish color of the palm fruit oil is estimated for nutrition, but the refined kernel oil can be found in many processed and shelf -stable commercial foods.

What is palm oil?

Palm oil comes from the oil palm, which is scientifically referred to as Elaeis Guineensis, and is the liquid that is pressed from the red, fleshy fruits or the seeds inside. There are two types of oil that come from this plant: crude oil palm oil and palm kernel oil. The former comes from the fruits and the latter is pressed from the seed or kernel. Both are used for cooking and in food, although the coarse style occurs more frequently in the kitchen and is an orange-red color, a direct result of the high beta-carotene content in the fruits. Palmkernel oil is usually pressed into a solid and refined to maintain packaged foods.

Palm oil has been used for thousands of years, and traces of the ingredient were used in a grave in Egypt to around 3,000 BC. Chr. Found. But palm oil is not only used in food. During the British industrial revolution, it was also a popular lubricant for machines. Many soaps also contain palm oil; The best known, palmolive, an American brand of liquid dishes.

There are two oil palms that produce palm oil, the African oil palm (from West Africa) and the American oil palm, which comes in Latin America. Due to a growing popularity that has taken place in the past 50 years, the tree is now being raised and harvested in more areas, including places in Asia and India.

How to use palm oil

Most of the palm oil found on the market will be a more natural, not more sophisticated version, which can be used in many ways and often easily replaces olive oil and other vegetable oils in recipes. Use it When producing hummus Give a bit of sweet nuts to the dip. Cut vegetables and potatoes with palm oil, salt and pepper and roast. Choose palm oil when you have seeds and spices for a stew, curry or stirring sieve rates and let the ingredients lubricate what works in the pot after blooming the spices. If you make a salad, try to use palm oil in dressing. It will give the court a unique shoot and at the same time give some healthy fat.

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How does palm oil taste?

Palm oil is neither an overwhelming taste nor the red, not refined oil an empty slate. Palm oil is an earthiness that differs from its vegetable and olive objects. It can be compared with a root vegetables such as orange and yellow winter cubes and carrots. Palm oil can also convey a little nut in shells, even though this shade remains mild.

Recipes of palm oil

Palm oil can be part of many dishes that are cooked at home and is often used in preserved and processed food. While many recipes do not require palm oil, it can be replaced in many applications by olive and/or herbal oils.

Where can you buy palm oil

Despite the production of palm oil in many food products, it is not so easy to get pure palm oil. Health feed and natural grocery stores wear it, especially the unexpected red version. You can also find it in markets that wear African or Brazilian products. Like other food oils, palm oil is sold in a number of sizes, from small bottles to gallon jugs to full drums. It is not an expensive ingredient and can be refined in natural red color, not refined and light yellow. The color that is often connected to rapeseed oil.

storage

As long as it is in a sealed glass, palm oil can take years. It is best to store in a cool area of the pantry or to place in the fridge for a longer shelf life. If the room is warm, the palm oil can liquefied, but that doesn’t hurt the ingredient. Cooling becomes solid again. Just make sure it is sealed so that no moisture penetrates the glass, which can cause mold.

Nutrition and advantages

As for the fats, palm oil contains about the same amount of saturated fat as a butter pole. It also has a good amount of an unsaturated fat that is advertised as a heart -healthy way. Palm Oil’s greatest claim to nutrition is a large amount of vitamins E and K. Even if it is also a dose of beta carotene that is converted into vitamin A when consumed.

Varieties

The term palm oil includes many types of ingredients, including palm oil, palm core oil and fractionated palm kernel oil. Everyone comes from the oil palm, but are not exactly the same.

Palm kernel oil is pressed from the seed or core of the fruits and tends to be creamier. Regular red palm oil comes from the purple fruits that are steamed to release the oil. This type of palm oil is also referred to as raw arm oil. Finally, the fractionated palm kernel oil, a derivative of kernel oil, which is pressed up to almost all solids. This form of the ingredient is mainly used in processed and preserved foods such as energy rods, confectionery rods, fruit snacks and many other shelves.

Myths

Not all palm oil come from large plantations. There is a lot of small farms in Indonesia, Malaysia, West Africa and many Latin American countries. There is a lot of controversy about palm oil production and deforestation. While large plantations have certainly uprooted other local trees, this is by no means a leading leader when it comes to environmental and rainforest problems, and there are many places that react responsibly from palm oil.

Another myth about palm oil is that it is unhealthy. It is in many unhealthy foods, but palm oil itself is not bad to eat. It is comparable to butter and other oils and proves to be healthier in some cases.

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