Image: Palm Oils - outer pulp vs kernel from African Oil Palm - Elaeis guineenisis

Description: Shown two very different oils from the one fruit of the African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineenisis). The outer reddish-yellow fruit pulp is edible, rich in easily digestible high-calorie vegetable fats and vitamins. Cooking, then mashing and straining the cooked fruits produces an opaque, oily reddish liquid with yellow solids, leaving a harder nut that appears much like a tiny coconut. Inside that, after cracking the hard husk that protects it, the dark brown center kernel is made of a white vegetable solid that is easily melted to produce a transparent, slightly yellow-tinged oil that is poorly digested and traditionally not eaten, but used in Africa for applying to hair and skin.
Title: Palm Oils - outer pulp vs kernel from African Oil Palm - Elaeis guineenisis
Credit: Own work
Author: T.K. Naliaka
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes