Palm Oil

The pulp of the fruit of the African palm is the source for palm oil. It should not be confused with palm-kernel oil, which is extracted from the kernel rather than the fruit. Palm oil has a red-orange color, a strong, unique flavor, and is very popular in the preparation of dishes native to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Western Africa. A highly refined version of palm oil has very little color and is usually blended with other oils for the creation of generic vegetable fats and oils. Palm oil is one of the few plant oils that is very high in saturated fat.