Palm Oil

A fat pressed from the fruit of the oil palm. The unrefined red kind is orange from carotenoids and tastes earthy and savory. It is the base of many West African and Brazilian dishes.

Flavor

How to use it

Warm It to Pour. Cool palm oil sets like soft butter. Stand the jar in warm water to melt it before measuring.

Use It as a Flavor, Not a Neutral Oil. Red palm oil tastes strongly of itself and stains everything orange. Use it where that earthy savor belongs, such as stews and sauces.

Common mistakes

• Swapping it into a recipe as a neutral oil.
• Buying refined palm oil and expecting the color and earthy flavor of the red kind.

What goes with palm oil

• Scotch Bonnet. Palm oil and scotch bonnet are the base of many West African stews and sauces.
• Tomato. Palm oil's earthy richness softens tomato's acid in West African stews.
• Onion. Onion fried in palm oil is the base of countless West African stews.
• Coconut Milk. Palm oil and coconut milk are the two fats of Brazilian moqueca.
• Shrimp. Palm oil and shrimp are paired in Brazilian vatapa and moqueca.
• Chicken thigh. Palm oil's savory richness suits slow-simmered chicken thighs in stews like moambe.
• Spinach. Palm oil carries the flavor of bitter greens like spinach in West African palava sauce.
• Peanut. Peanut's roasted richness and palm oil's earthiness meet in groundnut stews.

Try tonight

• West African pepper and tomato stew
• Brazilian shrimp stew with coconut milk
• Spinach and peanut stew finished with palm oil

Storage

Store at room temperature in a sealed container away from light. It turns soft and semi-solid in a cool kitchen.