Smart Fuel: Palm Oil
Of the tropical oils, coconut gets the most attention, while palm oil gets mostly ignored. The virgin coconut oil has a fairly distinct flavor, but it’s one most people are familiar with, and it lends itself well to both sweet and savory dishes. Palm oil, especially the virgin red variety that gets all the attention for its positive health effects, also has a distinct flavor, but it’s one many people seem to dislike, probably because it’s so unfamiliar (in the US, at least; worldwide, palm oil is the most widely used cooking oil) to our palates. Scott Kustes had a guest post awhile back discussing the tropical oils, but I thought it would be good to give a short, comprehensive primer on the multiple varieties of palm oil.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is extracted from the flesh of the plum-sized palm fruit. In the better brands, the processing that goes into the extraction isn’t overly invasive, and people have been doing it in roughly the same manner (the scale of operations has changed, of course). The main steps, for both small and large operations:
- Separation of individual fruits (palm fruits grow in bunches).
- Softening up the flesh.
- The pressing of the fruit.
- The purification of the resultant oil.
Now, step four is where everything changes. If you want to make an ultra-refined product for shipping to the masses, you subject the raw oil to a purification process that renders the oil white and nearly flavorless. This highly-refined palm oil, as long as it hasn’t been hydrogenated (partially or otherwise), is a great choice for relatively high heat stir frying, but you will be losing some nutritional value (see Red Palm Oil below). Refined palm oil is about 50% saturated fat, 39% monounsaturated fat, and only around 11% polyunsaturated fat, making it stable for cooking (and storage) and semisolid at room temperature. Feel free to use this as a primary cooking oil.
Palm Kernel Oil
Palm kernel oil comes from the same fruit and the same tree, only this time the oil’s coming from the seeds of the plant – or the kernel. Health officials are quick to warn against excess consumption of palm kernel oil owing to its much higher saturated fat levels, which is usually our cue to do the exact opposite. Palm kernel oil is highly saturated (around 80% SFA, 15% MUFA, and 2.5% PUFA), making it fantastic for high heat cooking. It’s very similar to coconut oil. I haven’t tried it myself, and I can’t get word either way about the flavor, so I’m unclear as to how it differs from normal refined palm oil beyond the fatty acid profile. Anyone know?
Red Palm Oil
This is the virgin, unrefined stuff. Palm oil is naturally reddish, and it comes chock full of vitamins and antioxidants. When palm oil is highly refined, though, it loses its color and taste right along with the inarguably beneficial effects. Vitamin E (may help prevent LDL oxidation), betacarotenes (many more than carrots or tomatoes), and co-enzyme Q10 (a major participant in cellular respiration) are all in red palm oil. Furthermore, the vitamin E in red palm oil is made up of both tocotrienols and tocopherols; the vitamin E in most foods is mainly tocopherol, which may be less effective than the tocotrienols abounding in red palm oil. Red palm oil does have a strong taste – according to one Portuguese explorer, “It smells of violets, tastes like olives and has a colour that blends foods together like saffron, but even all this can’t sufficiently describe its special qualities.” A bit of hyperbole? Perhaps. But the point is that you don’t want to be mixing this stuff with just anything; you might, for example, try this West African dish employing red palm oil.
Most health food stores should carry palm oil, both refined and red, and I know that Whole Foods definitely carries both. If there’s no Whole Foods in your area, check out any local co-ops or the smaller health food shops. On the online front, Tropical Traditions makes a great virgin red palm oil that can be ordered.
I think red palm oil is worth having around. For regular sautéing (eggs, for example), butter would probably work just fine, but certain cuisines use a lot of palm oil, and it’s great having options. Plus, it’s an extremely shelf stable fat. Use liberally and with great gusto!
Lon&Queta Flickr Photo (CC)
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
Mark – PLEASE stop promoting the use of palm oil – this has been commented on several times by people who are clearly more educated than myself…i’m quite upset that you are still running with this as an acceptable product!!
please put out a “daily apple” condeming the use of this product that is single handedly making a beautiful species extinct.
you wield a huge power over your readers – people TRUST you and believe in you – use your power for the good of the environment and let all your readers know that palm oil should be;
OFF THE MENU!!
thanks
Good lord, why don’t you guys just read the entire post and click the link he provided to Tropical Traditions before you attack Mark for contributing to monkey genocide. Their page clearly states:
“Tropical Traditions Virgin Palm Oil comes from West Africa, NOT South East Asia. Our Virgin Palm Oil is produced by small-scale family producers in Africa that are certified organic. When you purchase Tropical Traditions Virgin Palm Oil, you are supporting small scale family producers in Africa, and NOT large corporate plantations in South East Asia.”
There you have it. A source for this fine oil from a company with a spotless reputation for honesty, integrity, quality, and environmental stewardship.
Calm down, buy the oil, and put the real monkey killers out of business.
What do you all think about Spectrum’s Shortening made with palm oil http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=247
Spectrum Naturals Shortening – yes – I was wondering that as well. Anyone on a low budget has to read posts like this with an eye to finding the cheapest solution to take advantage of the MDA recommendation. Most of the time it’s ridiculous, as virgin oils of any kind, coconut or whatever are not cheap. I currently use Louanna refined coconut oil as my cooking staple. Not ideal – but that’s the ONLY relatively cheap coconut oil anywhere. So what about the Spectrum Naturals Shortening? Any ideas?
this stuff:
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=87
I have Spectrum Shortening, too, so I’m curious.
As for cheap unrefined coconut oil, if any stores in your area sell “Tree of Life” brand, I’ve found that for $5.99 at my local healthfood store. Also, Amazon sells Nutiva for around $11/2 jars.
Nutrition label on the Spectrum Shortening says: 6g SFA, 2g PUFA and 5g MUFA, so I presume the outlook isn’t good…?
Meanwhile the Louanna coconut oil says 12g SFA, 0g PUFA and 1g MUFA.
Didn’t realise how fortunate I was to live in South London as all the African shops sell palm oil and its the orange stuff too. As well as that I have sourced coconut oil, almond oil, coconut, cassava, yam, and almond flours as well as a load of other flours which are gluten free and that I have never heard of (melon seed flour for instance!!). Lots of West African people are living in South London and their cuisine is well worth checking out I think.
Hi all,
I’ve just bought and tried unrefined red palm oil from Ghana (according to label).
Peculiar smell (saffron-y, I’d say), semisolid at room temperature, gives red colour to food, very stable while cooking and very tasty.
I paid 2 pounds for 500 ml. That is all but expensive, in my opinion.
In fact, I think it’s so cheap it’s almost too good to be truly something great (my reference point is always extra-virgin olive oil). Don’t you think so?
hmm it think the issue of over using habitat is important. but plam oil is one product where i notice a real difference in how i feel. so im not going to stop using it. however in the above it is interesting to note that a lot of hte misuse may come from fast food outlets. i make all my own food at home. i will look into buying the African one. thanks.
I HATE YOU GET F***KED
There are reliable sources of sustainable palm oil
Check out our website
http://www.nbpol.com.pg
Based in Papua New Guinea, New Britain Palm Oil Ltd produces about 17% of the global supply of fully sustainable palm oil.
The World Economic Forum in 2011 named NBPOL as a “world sustainability champion”
http://www.nbpol.com.pg/?p=832
Palm oil from the right sources can be used with a clear conscience
Enjoy!
Amylee, There are some excellent medications for the symptoms you are exhibiting, Zoloft comes to mind. It’s easy to be a childish, inappropriate nutcase online but you should get help before someone in real life takes serious offense.
That’s a really interesting article, I actually own 2 farms in Thailand growing palm oil. The tree takes 3 years to mature and we will start harvesting later this year (2012). Our plan was always to send the product to a local dealer in its raw form where the oils is extracted and then sold on to the food and Biodiesel industries. Maybe I will look further at the Virgin palm oil market. Currently I use Olive oil mainly which can get expensive over here.
The article says that they collect the palm fruit to make the oil.
Why would they chop down the trees that give them fruit?
That would be like chopping down an apple tree to get the apples.
The deforestation scare doesn’t make sense.
Mark, the issue is that native vegetation (and orangutan habitat) is being cleared in order to make room for palm plantations.
It is correct that palm trees are not being cut down to collect the oil. It’s what happens in order to create the non-native plantation crop.
For those looking for another supplier of red palm oil, check out Wilderness Family Naturals (wildernessfamilynaturals.com). Their source is from a company which belongs to an organization called Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. See http://bit.ly/WFN-palm-oil-source for more information.
An interesting aspect of WFN’s red palm oil is that the heaviest fatty acids have been substantially separated out. So some of the longer chain saturated fats present in unrefined red palm oil are missing here. The resulting composition is 36% SFs, 49% MUFs, and 14% PUFs (linoleic acid). Not a good thing on the face of it, right?
And now for the rest of the story: The resulting product is a still more concentrated source of carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols and CoQ10, because the fatty acids removed had very little of these nutrients. I can personally attest that the oil has a mild, pleasant, slightly earthy taste. I make sure a take a tablespoon of the stuff on days (most) when I do not work it into a recipe.
The fatty acid profile is similar to olive oil, so it has a long shelf life. I can get good saturated fats from plenty of foods. For vitamin E family, etc., red palm oil is practically unique.
Deforestation is the first step – anywhere. The primary reason is the international demand for wood. Much of the deforested area is subsequently never converted to oil palm. To protect the Orangutan and the forests, the primary target should be the demand for tropical wood. New land does not need to be cleared for oil palm in the Asia-Pacific region. There is plenty of land where the timber was taken away and the promised oil palm plantations never eventuated.
If you want to take effective action now – boycott this year’s Olympic Games or other regular regular global economic events that are predicated on a new round of building activity.
Don’t spend $25 on a jar that small. That is a rip off. My family is from Ghana and I was raised on Palm Oil. I’ve been eating Palm Oil back in the 80′s when American dieticians said tropical oils had “too much” cholesterol and fat.
You can go to an African Market and get a gallon for $20…probably less
If you don’t live in an area that is populated with a lot of West Africans. You can probably google some Ghanaian grocery stores.warehouses in NYC
If they are charging this much just for palm oil I am sure they are beating people over the head.
Speaking of heads I have never heard of people using palm oil for their hair but when my daughter was an infant I used coconut oil and almond oil for her hair.
You have to wash out the coconut oil after you leave it in but you can leave the almond oil in your hair with no problem
So if you have family memebers allergic to coconut Is this Red Palm Oil the next best thing to use for cooking or should I stick with a Palm Kernel Oil.
Palm oil is pretty terrible for our environment. Palm doesn’t seem worth it with equivalent alternatives like coconut. If you travel much in Asia you will meet people who confirm the harshness of its production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1NAYWHb-xaU