Mango oil facts for kids

Mango oil, also known as mango kernel fat or mango butter, is a special kind of oil. It comes from the big seed, called a kernel or stone, inside a mango fruit. You know, the delicious fruit from the Mangifera indica tree! This oil is a type of vegetable oil.

At room temperature, mango oil is a soft yellow and feels like a semi-solid butter. But when it touches your warm skin, it melts easily. This makes it super popular for things like baby creams, sun protection balms, hair products, and other lotions that help keep your skin moisturized. It usually melts between 32–42 °C (90–108 °F).

How Mango Oil is Made

Making mango oil involves getting the fat out of dried mango kernels. There are two main ways to do this:

• Using Pressure: This method uses strong machines to press the oil out of the kernels. It's like squeezing juice from a fruit, but much stronger!
• Using a Solvent: This method uses a special liquid, like hexane, to dissolve the oil out of the kernels. Hexane is a type of hydrocarbon, which is a chemical made of hydrogen and carbon.

Here's a step-by-step look at how it's often done:

• First, the mango stones (the big seeds) are collected and washed with clean water.
• Then, they are dried in the sun until most of the water is gone (about 12-15% moisture left).
• Next, the dried seeds are roasted in a big drum. This helps to loosen the outer shell, called the hull.
• The hull is then removed, either by machines or by hand, often by hitting them with wooden clubs.
• The kernels (the inside part of the seed) are separated and crushed into small pieces using a machine called a hammer mill.
• These small pieces are then shaped into pellets, which are like tiny solid cylinders.
• The pellets are cooled down and sent to a special plant for solvent extraction.
• Sometimes, instead of pellets, the kernels are flattened into flakes using a flaking roller mill.

What's Inside Mango Oil?

Open mango stone

Mango kernels

Mango kernel oil is solid at room temperature and melts between 35–43 °C (95–109 °F). It contains different types of fats, called fatty acids, which give it its unique properties.

Here are some of the physical properties and fatty acids found in mango kernel oil:

Uses of Mango Oil

Mango oil is quite versatile! One of its cool uses is as a replacement for cocoa butter when making chocolate. This means it can help give chocolate its smooth texture and melt-in-your-mouth feel.