Palm Fruit also known as African Oil Palm is an oval-shaped fruit from the African palm tree (Elaeis guineensis ). The Outer red fleshy fruit is the primary source of palm oil while the single inner edible kernel nut is the primary source of palm kernel oil. From the average palm fruit can be processed into different forms such as;

1) Palm Fruit Juice: This is the juice extract from the outer fleshy pericarp of whole fruit without further processing. It’s used in preparing various Nigerian dishes such as Banga soup, Ofe aku, Abak Atama e.t.c.

2)  Palm Kernel Oil:  This is the most popular product from the palm fruit. it is red in colour and used in various ways. When processed further, you’d get other products such as palm olein
Palmolein (Vegetable oil): Bleached, neutralized, deodorized & de-gummed palm oil.

3) Palm Kernel Oil: Bleached, Neutralized, Deodorized Oil. This is processed from the kernel. After the processing of the fresh kernel fruit to yield palm oil, the shelled inner palm kernel nut is then cracked to yield the palm kernel fruit which is crushed and processed into palm kernel oil. This is used in the production of vegetable oils, soaps, creams and candles and not suitable for human consumption therefore mainly used for soap making.

In most Nigerian homes, there’s one common ingredient you’ll likely find and that ingredient is palm oil.
In this tutorial, we’d be learning more about palm oil. As stated above, palm oil is a popular product from the palm fruit. It’s a rich edible vegetable oil which is rich in Sterols, Vitamin E, Antioxidants(Flavonoids & Phenolic Acid), Carotenoids such as Alpha & Beta-carotene, Lycopene.  It has a reddish-orange colour and is used in preparing various dishes such as soups, stews and local salads and appetizers. 

How To Make Palm Oil