African oil palm. The oil palm is the most productive Palm trees grow in Africa
The oil palm is the most productive : homeland - Africa, West Guinea, where they still harvest from wild palm trees and get oil in villages using traditional methods.
Guinean oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) produces the highest yield among all oilseeds - 4-8 tons of oil per hectare per year!
But the Guinean oil palm has certain drawbacks. It grows exclusively in warm, humid equatorial climates between 18° north and south latitude. The area suitable for oil palm cultivation is very limited.
The oil palm is the most productive palm
In addition, this plant does not reproduce vegetatively - the palm tree can be grown only from seeds.
Within 4–6 years, the oil palm grows, forming a rosette of leaves, and only after that it forms a trunk. Maximum fruiting begins from 15–20 years after sowing and continues until about 70 years old.
Therefore, large oil palm groves often belong to royal families and are inherited.
From the 15th century palm tree began to grow in different parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
In 1870 oil palm was first brought to Malaysia, used as an ornamental plant, adorned the streets of cities, and since 1917 it began to be grown commercially.
Malaysia is currently the largest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world.
Malaysia and Indonesia mainly specialize in the cultivation of a palm tree hybrid called "Tenera". This variety produces from each hectare about 4 tons of palm oil, approximately 0.5 tons of palm kernel and 0.6 tons of oilcake.
Maly palm "Tenera"
The palm reaches maturity at 3 years and bears fruit for 35 years. It produces the largest oil yield per hectare compared to other agricultural crops.
Palm fruits grow in large clusters, reaching a weight of 10–20 kilograms and numbering about 2 thousand individual fruits. Palm oil is obtained from the pulp that envelops the fruits in a simple way: the fruits are boiled, crushed and squeezed.
The pulp contains about 49% palm oil, and the kernel contains about 50% palm kernel oil.
Palm "Tenera" begins to bear fruit 30 months after planting, and up to eight years the yield is constantly increasing. Then five years the yield remains at the same level. From the age of 13, the yield gradually decreases. By the age of 25, the plantation should be updated.
The oil palm is the most productive, as it yields 1 crop every 20 days. That is, every 20 days it is necessary to collect new ripened fruits. Considering that there are few workers, and they gradually move through the entire forest of palm trees, the timing is very important so as not to knock them down, because the palm tree will begin to grow new flowers and fruits only after cutting the old ones.
And, therefore, 20 days are counted after the harvest. And when there are failures, for example, the workers did not come out due to heavy rains or for another reason, then the whole cyclicity goes astray. They climb onto palm trees with the help of "cats", they cut off the seedlings with a chainsaw, and they fall to the ground.
Palm oil is one of the most ancient vegetable oils used by man for cooking.
Palm oil is already being used over 5000 years old.
Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree, namely the pulp of the fruit, which is first squeezed and then boiled. They grow mainly in tropical countries, in particular in West Africa.
In its natural form, the product is a liquid substance, has an orange-yellow color and has a rather pleasant aroma and sweet aftertaste. At temperatures below thirty degrees, the oil becomes solid reminiscent of the structure of margarine.
Palm oil is the hardest vegetable oil
Palm oil is the only one in the world that is called solid vegetable oil. similar in composition to animal fats.
Palm oil consists mainly of saturated fatty acids, which differ ability to be stored for a long time without changing its properties.
In its composition, the oil contains palmitic acid in large quantities, but despite this, it also contains other saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, in particular, stearic, oleic, arachidic, linoleic, myristic, lauric, etc.
In addition, the oil contains vitamins E, D, K, lecithin, phytosterols, squalene, coenzyme Q10, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. This product is quite high in calories, the energy value is about 900 kcal per 100 g of product.
Today, palm oil is the No. 1 oil in terms of production and consumption in the world.
The main consumers of palm oil are developed countries - Europe, America, Japan.
Why is palm oil so popular?
Firstly, it is stored for a long time without changing the taste and, accordingly, allows the production of products with longer shelf life. Palm oil in a box can be stored at room temperature for 1 year, and it does not change its properties, does not go rancid, unlike sunflower oil.
Secondly, palm oil is very cheap, as the crop is harvested almost every day.
And thirdly, this oil lends itself to hydrogenation, during which it passes from a liquid to a solid state. The resulting mass can be added to anything - it's cheap (for example, compared to milk fat) and convenient. And these qualities, of course, were immediately appreciated by product manufacturers.
Palm oil - both solid and liquid
Palm oil is divided into technical and food - solid and liquid, groups- white, yellow, red palm oils.
Elite variety - red palm oil
Red palm oils are the "cream" of palm oil, "Elite". Next, industrial oil is pressed - for mass production of products (Lushin, Doshirak, Chips, etc.), and only then - low-grade technical oil.
Oil is also extracted from palm seeds. . It's called palm kernel , it is lighter than palm and resembles coconut. There are other types of palm oil.
Palm oil in the culinary field the level of use can be compared with coconut oil. Confectioners unanimously claim that this product is simply indispensable in the production of their products, especially those that are intended for long-term storage.
It is used in the production of margarine, other substitutes for natural butter, is an ingredient in the manufacture of condensed milk, crackers, crackers, chocolate, cheese, bread, ice cream, cakes, pastries, confectionery, and many other products.
The oil palm grows only in the equatorial latitudes, and is the most valuable crop there. But we also deal with this exotic plant quite often.
Like many other palms, the oil palm begins growth without a trunk, for the first 4-5 years it produces only long, spectacular leaves. But for 5-6 years, a trunk is formed, and it gradually raises a bunch of leaves to a height of up to 30 meters. So, in order to collect valuable fruits, the natives used ladders, ropes, and this was even a dangerous thing. On plantations, palm trees usually do not grow above 15 meters and do not live to their natural old age. The plant itself can live up to a hundred years, but on plantations, after the peak of fruiting, the old palm tree is replaced with a new one. Palm trees are very fruitful, and large drupes of fruits are collected in large clusters. Each bunch can weigh up to 50 kilograms, and one person a day collects more than a hundred of these bunches.
This was appreciated by the industrialists of many countries. If earlier the oil palm served only local residents, now its valuable fruits are useful all over the world. In the homeland of the palm tree, in Liberia and the Congo, it is completely irreplaceable. Animal husbandry there is risky due to the spread, and oil palm is the main source of fat. In Africa, it is believed that palm oil has been mined for a long time: not at the bottom of one of the ancient vessels found by archaeologists were found the remains of the same fat of the oil palm. And the first written evidence of the oil palm and its oil dates back to the 15th century.
Precious, and at the same time inexpensive, oil palm clusters are used without a trace. Bright orange or rust-colored fruits produce two types of oil: palm and palm kernel. The first is extracted from the pulp, the second and from the stone. Locals eat palm oil fresh, and after standing for a while, it becomes unpleasant to the taste. But it is perfect for lubricating mechanisms, including automotive lubricants, and is used to make candles and soap. Palm kernel oil has become a more valuable food product. One has only to read the labels, and it turns out that sweets, ice cream, margarines contain it.
Palm wine is also prepared from the fruits of the oil palm tree, which is similar in properties to coconut palm wine. And the cake from fruits and seeds already pressed for oil is still nutritious - it is used as food for ungulates.
Although the homeland of the oil palm is West Africa, it is cultivated along the entire equator, and the largest plantations are planted in Malaysia. Due to the fact that the oil palm grows slowly, it is sometimes even grown at home - the feathery leaves are very decorative. The African oil palm has a relative, the American oil palm. She also gives a lot of oil, but grows at the same time - lying down. Its trunk is attached to the ground with numerous processes-roots, and the leaves rise up only 2-3 meters.
The growth of the world's population requires more products. Vegetable oil is no exception. The world produces and consumes a huge amount of it. On the territory of Russia, sunflower oil is the most common - one of the types of vegetable oil. In addition to it, there are still several dozen varieties, all of which have a name according to the plant or fruit from which it is produced. The most popular include palm, soybean, rapeseed, olive and sunflower. Moreover, they differ in terms of world production and consumption, for example, palm oil occupies a leading position, accounting for 36%, soybean oil is in second place - 26%, rapeseed oil is in third - 15%, and sunflower oil is only in fourth, occupying 9 percent of the total. .
What is it made from
Palm oil is extracted from the fruits of the oil palm tree, which is native to West Africa. Its Latin name - Elaeisguineensis - translates as "olive" (elaion) and "Guinean" (guineensis). For the first time, mention of it is found in the records of merchants traveling the African continent, dated to the 15th century. Today, however, Indonesia and Malaysia have become the main suppliers of this natural product. It is not difficult to guess why - thanks to the perseverance and hard work of these East Asian peoples, and of course the warm and humid climate there. One third of the world's palm oil is grown and produced in these regions. In nature, palm trees can reach 30 meters, cultivated varieties - 15 meters. The tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 3-4 years. From one hectare of young palms, you can collect up to 3 tons of fruits, from mature plants - up to 15 tons. Plantation-grown palm trees yield 2-4 crops per year. The fruits of the oil palm tree, similar to plums, grow in whole seedlings - many thousands of "heaps" weighing from 25 kilograms.
What are the fruits of the palm tree
Looks like oil palm fruit similar to a plum or a date, under the pericarp of which there is an oily pulp, then follows a nut shell with an inner core (oil is also prepared from it - palm kernel oil).
What are the main types of oils made from the fruits of the oil palm
palm oil color directly depends on the color of the flesh of the fruit. It can have a wide color spectrum: from yellowish to dark red. Its scent is reminiscent of violets. After processing, including rectification (separation into components), bleaching and deodorization, it can be used in food. Basically, the refined product is used in the frying process, as a salad dressing. It is also one of the components in the preparation of ice cream, chips, "quick" cereals, chocolate, various bakery and confectionery products, sausages, mayonnaise, etc.
Palm kernel oil extracted from kernels very similar in characteristics to coconut, and is often used with / instead of it. The process of production and processing of this species is more complex and expensive. It is produced in smaller quantities and is valued more than usual. The scope of the palm kernel product is the production of high-quality expensive cosmetics and perfumes.
About useful and harmful properties
It's impossible not to say that there are types according to the degree of processing: raw, refined and technical.
The most expensive of them is the first - raw. But it does not occur with us. Unrefined palm oil contains a lot of vitamin E, provitamin A, carotenoids. This is the positive side of the product properties.
Its harm lies in:
- high content of saturated fats,
- high melting point, or refractoriness,
- low levels of linoleic acid.
If such a degree of benefit / harm possesses that has not been purified, then the refined benefit loses - that's for sure, and the harmful characteristics increase.
next view according to the degree of processing - technical. Most often, this type is used for the production of inexpensive cosmetics and technological lubricants. It is the cheapest. And therein lies the trick. Many food manufacturers add a technical variety to their production process in order to save money. There is no need to talk about its harmfulness. It is enough just to remember the raw product and increase it eleven times!
Buy or not buy products that include palm oil - everyone decides for himself.
This palm can be called the "sister" of the coconut. The oil palm is a rather slender tree-like plant, the height of the trunk of which reaches 30-35 meters. The leaves are pinnate, large (up to two meters long), concentrated at the top of the trunk. Leaves change every two years. Inflorescences appearing on the same tree contain only female or only male flowers. For this reason, plants require cross-pollination, which occurs with gusts of wind. The fruits of the oil palm tree are drupes connected into fairly large brushes (their mass can reach several tens of kilograms).
The value of drupes lies in the fact that they are used to produce the famous palm oil, known to Europeans since the time of the Portuguese sea voyages to the shores of West Africa. However, palm oil appeared on the European market only centuries later - around the end of the 18th century, and already in the 19th century large plantations of this plant began to be cultivated in African countries and the oil palm gained popularity as a crop.
For the production of oil, the inner fibrous layer of the fruit is used, which contains a large amount of fat. Currently, several types of oil palms are cultivated, differing in the density and thickness of the stony shell of the fruit. Trees whose fruits have a thin shell have a higher yield. Wild-growing species of palms are characterized by a thick, strong shell of the fruit and smaller inflorescences collected in brushes.
Two centuries ago, the oil palm was considered an ornamental plant. Now these trees are grown on a fairly vast territory within the equatorial and subequatorial belts. This includes the West African countries, the islands of Indonesia and Malaysia. In Malaysia and Indonesia, the plant became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century, and the palm tree grown in the Singapore Botanical Garden became the ancestor of the plantations cultivated there.
In terms of its fertility, the oil palm is the leader among all other oilseeds. In the years of the highest yield, more than 30 centners of valuable oil are obtained from only one hectare of a palm plantation. This product is in high demand among the population of many countries, and therefore palm oil is successfully exported abroad.
This raw material is used in various industries: in processed and purified form, it is used as a food product, as well as for the preparation of margarine and some perfumes and cosmetics. Palm seeds after special processing go to the production of palm kernel oil, which is used in the soap industry, in the manufacture of washing powders and other detergents.
Residents of those states in whose territory the oil palm is cultivated often eat its seeds. They are dried a little on the fire and eaten like nuts. By the way, roasted palm seeds have a rather pleasant taste, comparable only to the taste of walnuts familiar to everyone.
In the equatorial countries where the oil palm is bred, it is also famous for the fact that it provides raw materials for obtaining palm wine: sweet juice is collected from its inflorescences, which, after fermentation, turns into a wonderful drink that is highly valued by the locals.
Did you know that date palms are divided into male and female? The male specimen has a different type of flowers, which makes it possible to distinguish it from the female "individual". Since ancient times, it has been known that male and female date palms are needed for a good harvest. For several dozen women's - one man's. One palm tree can produce a quarter of a ton of dates.
A palm tree is ideally suited for life in the desert: its trunk can protect not only from heat, but also from cold too. Dead leaves provide additional protection. By the way, fresh palm leaves are very durable and the inhabitants of the corresponding latitudes make clothes from them. Thus, people are well protected from the scorching sun and dust. In very hot weather, the palm tree grows only at night, resting during the day.
But how does a date palm in the desert do without water? Fortunately, without water, it does not grow. The reality is that the date only grows where groundwater comes fairly close to the surface, and with its powerful, long roots, the palm tree can reach them. The surroundings form an oasis, to the delight of those who travel through the arid regions. You, if you decide to grow a date palm at home, do not worry - in our latitudes, even in the greatest heat, the date will feel great.
Of the five thousand varieties of dates, everything can be divided into three groups: dry, semi-dry and juicy. Naturally, juicy ones are the most expensive and tasty, but in many respects they are inferior to dry ones. The latter are known for strengthening the walls of blood vessels, have antioxidant and antiradical activity.
Peaches, of course, do not grow on the Venezuelan peach palm. Its eighteen-meter trunk and even leaves are covered with very sharp needle-like spines that protect ripening fruits from people and animals.
Egg-shaped bright red or orange-yellow fruits the size of a small peach or apricot hang in huge grape-like clusters. The fleshy outer part of the fruit tastes like a chestnut and if boiled in salt water, you get a tasty dish rich in vitamins. Sometimes these fruits are roasted and eaten with molasses or sprinkled with sugar syrup. In Central and South America, peach palms are planted in whole plantations.
In Upper Egypt, the doom palm grows (in other places it is called the ginger palm). An interesting feature distinguishes it from other palm trees. On a tree 10-12 meters high, 3-4 branches grow. Each of them ends with a bunch of fan-shaped leaves, between which flowers appear: on one tree - female, on the other - male. In female trees, the flowers are replaced by large clusters of beautiful shiny yellow-brown fruits. There are up to 200 of them in one bunch. The ginger palm is the most important source of food for the poor in Egypt (they eat the fibrous mealy husk of the fruit, which tastes like gingerbread).
Doom palm - the only branching palm in the world
In the swampy forests and flooded lowlands of tropical America, Africa and Madagascar, the raffia palm tree grows, from the sweet juice of which wine is made. The fruits and apical bud of raffia are used as food as a vegetable, and oil is pressed from the seeds.
Another genus of wine palms is jubea. It combines honey or wine, palm, elephant and wonderful Chilean. They grow in the mountains along the Pacific coast of Chile up to a height of 1200 meters.
Their smooth 25-meter trunks with a diameter of about a meter serve as a source of sweet juice up to 400 liters from one adult tree, which, in turn, is used to make molasses (hence the name honey palm) and wine. The fruit is 4-5 centimeters long with edible pulp similar to a coconut. The leaves are used to make fiber and also serve as roofing material.
The main source of vegetable oil in the tropics is the fruits of coconut and oil palms. The oil palm grows in the western part of Equatorial Africa. On a trunk about 30 meters high, bearing over 150 three-meter pinnate leaves, clusters of drupe fruits hang. One such brush consists of 600-800 fruits and weighs up to 25 kilograms. The seeds of the fruit contain about 50% of the so-called palm oil used to make margarine.
In Oceania, along with the coconut palm, which gives milk and butter, grows breadfruit. All types of trees of the genus Artocarpus of the mulberry family are called breadfruit. They bear fruit in "loaves" weighing up to 12 kg! In the pulp of oval fruits, starch accumulates, which, as it ripens, turns into ... dough. “If someone plants a breadfruit tree, he will do more to feed his descendants than a grain grower. cultivating his field all his life in the sweat of his brow .. ”- wrote James Cook.
Usually breadfruit trees bear fruit for 70-75 years. On one tree, 700-800 “loaves” ripen annually. The fruits are filled with sweet pulp. Drinks are made from unripe fruits, and something similar to bread is baked from ripe fruits. The fruits of the Indian breadfruit tree are impressive - up to a meter in diameter! The branches could not withstand such a load, so the "loaves" grow right on the trunk. The African breadfruit traculia has smaller fruits - up to half a meter in diameter and weighing up to 14 kg. In Madagascar, the patriarch of breadfruit trees has been preserved - 20 m high, trunk girth 50 m.
And from the starch of the sago palm growing in New Guinea, pancakes are made. The palm tree blooms at the age of 16, it is true, it is cut down, before flowering, when the largest amount of starch is in its core. The core is removed, pressed through a small sieve onto a hot metal surface and sago is made, from which the palm is called sago.
Without any processing, you can use the milky juice of the milk tree itself - the Venezuelan galactodendron. In composition, it is close to cow's milk and resembles cream with sugar! And if the juice is boiled, then a delicious curd mass is formed.
In Madagascar, you can admire a stunning tree from the Begonia family with bizarre fruits. It is called sausage, because on its branches there are a lot of brown sausage-shaped fruits randomly hanging on long stalks. Each such "sausage" can be about half a meter long and 10 cm in diameter. However, this is also the name of the Japanese aukuba. Its leathery leaves are covered with golden yellow spots and dots, somewhat reminiscent of pieces of fat on a sausage cut. The resemblance, however, is rather distant.
Off the east coast of Africa - the focus of strange, peculiar forms of plant life. Here, on the rocky slopes of the mountains, you can find a cucumber tree (Dendrosicyos socotrana) - a plant with prickly wrinkled leaves, thorny, similar to ordinary cucumber fruits and a thick stem swollen with milky juice, consisting of soft whitish cellular tissue, which is easily cut with a knife. It is the only tree in the gourd family.
On the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, a palm tree also grows, the thickened juice of nuts of which, in its taste, almost does not differ from butter.
There are also plants - "lollipops". For example, the leaves of the Paraguayan stevia shrub are more than 300 times sweeter than sugar, while the leaves of Mexican sugar grass are 1,000 times sweeter. The red berries of the herbaceous plant Toumatokus dannelii from the African savannah are 2,000 times sweeter than sugar, and the red berries of Dioscorephyllum cumminisia from the forests of Nigeria and other West African countries are 3,000 times sweeter. In West Africa, the sweetest plant grows - the ketemf shrub, which contains the substance toumatin, which is 100,000 times sweeter than sugar!
On the islands of Oceania there is a type of tropical tree - "cakes". They grow in abundance yellowish fruits that taste like sweet cakes.
Candy tree, or Japanese raisin tree, is a representative of the buckthorn family, native to Japan and China - sweet hovenia. To be precise, they are actually dry, and the taste of this vegetable candy is not for everyone: it resembles sour inedible raisins, but the twisted axis of the inflorescence holding them is juicy and fleshy. Each tree can produce 35 kg of "candy", neither sweet nor rum-flavored.
In the forests grows the plant calir-kanda, called in the local dialect “deceive the stomach”. After eating 1-2 leaves of it, a person feels full for a whole week, despite the fact that there are no nutrients in the leaves. Due to the ability to create the illusion of satiety, tablets and infusions from the leaves of calir-kanda are recommended for people who want to lose weight.
A plant like a palm tree represents jubilation, a sunny beginning, glory and honesty. The straight trunk of the palm symbolizes triumph, blessing and victory. The constancy of the palm tree in its irreplaceable foliage, permanent greenery gave reason to associate the power of the tree with the symbol of victory. No wonder the palm branch has long been awarded to the winner along with the laurel wreath. The palm among the peoples of the territories in which it grows is a tree of life, self-reproducing like an androgynous.
The image of a palm tree without fruits symbolizes the masculine principle and in many cultures is associated with the phallic symbol - the basis of male power. Palm tree with dates symbolizes the feminine and fertility.
The palm tree, both at a young and at an old age, bearing a large number of fruits, became a symbol of prosperity and longevity in old age.
Different countries endow the palm tree with their own symbolism, so in China the palm tree means dignity, fertility and retirement, in Arabia the palm tree is the tree of life. In Christianity, the palm tree characterizes the righteous, immortality, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, divine blessing, paradise, and the triumph of the martyr before death. Separately, palm branches represent triumph and glory, victory over death, sin, and resurrection. Early Catholicism associated the palm tree with burial and ranks this plant as a symbol of the person who made the pilgrimage. In Egypt, the palm tree is counted among the calendar trees, which let out a new branch only once a month. In Greece, the palm tree is the emblem of Apollo of Delos and Delphi.