Close up of fresh oil palm fruits, selective focus.
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You can make palm oil at home if you have access to palm fruits. While it sounds complicated, making palm oil is relatively simple. You'll enjoy having access to this wholesome, rich oil that is used in many types of traditional ethnic cooking.

Boil the palm nut fruits until they are soft and cracking open. This can take up to 45 minutes depending on how many palm nut fruits you have. The flesh of the fruits should be soft and tender.

Grind the fruits with the mortar and pestle. Do not actually break the nut, but grind the palm nuts with the pestle so the juices flow out of it. You will have a big, mushy mess when you are finished.

Filter the palm nut mush through the cheesecloth. You can strain the juice back into the pot of water as long as there is not a lot of chaff floating in the water. If there is, use fresh water.

Boil the palm nut fruit juice. As you boil the juice, the oil will separate and float on the surface of the water.

Use a spoon to "scrape" the oil off the surface of the water. Ladle it into the airtight container.

Tips

  • You need a lot of palm nut fruits to make just a little palm oil. Be prepared to get only little results from a fair amount of work.