Palm Oil

What is Palm Oil

Palm oil is probably the world’s most popular edible vegetable oil, made from the pulp of the fruit found in oil palms.

The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), which is native to west and southwest Africa, is the most commonly used for commercial agriculture. The American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera), which is native to tropical Central and South America, is primarily used for local oil production in that region.

Mature oil palm trees have a single stem and can grow to more than 60 feet tall, with fern-like pinnate leaves that can be 10 to 16 feet long. The plant produces tightly packed clusters of small flowers, each of which has three petals.

The palm’s fruit, which grows in bunches, is about the same size as a plum and reddish in color. Each fruit has a fleshy outer layer known as the pericarp as well as a single palm kernel seed, both of which are rich in oil.