Dendê oil

This oil is the mainstay of Bahian cuisine, and is the product extracted from the dendê palm tree, which was brought to Brazil by African slaves, back in the seventeenth century. The dendê palm tree is one of the most oleaginous in the world, producing more oil than soya beans, peanuts or coconut. The fruit and the stone are used in two different ways. The dendê oil used in cooking is extracted from the fruit pulp; first it is cooked in steam, then it is dried completely in the sun. The fruit is then crushed to release its bright orange-red oil. The stone is also used to extract oil of a different kind, with a transparent color, mostly used for cosmetics for its similarity to cocoa butter. Often sediment forms on the bottom of a dendê oil bottle. To liquify, simply place the bottle in a bowl with warm water and let it sit for 20 minutes.