Dende oil?

Question

I know this type of oil is used in Bahian cooking from Brazil but what exactly is it? What makes food from this region a love/hate thing? Is this available in the US and where can I find it?

In India, Eastern states use alot of mustard seed oil. It is thick and pungent and also a love it or hate it type of thing. I wonder if dende oil is like that.

THANKS!

Answer 1

Go with the last answer for a definition.

A friend of mine is Afro-Brazilian, but lives in the US.  She orders her dende oil from http://store.amigofoods.com/azdepaoil.ht...

People not accustomed to eating food prepared with dende oil should allow their systems some time to acclimate to this oil, as they would to any food that their digestive systems are unaccustomed to. But, by all means, don't completely avoid it! The Brazilian cuisine is a wonderful experience and none of it should be passed over without sampling.

Here's a recipe for Spicy Shrimp in Coconut Sauce.  Just be careful; the dende oil makes it high in saturated fat.

1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined

1/2 cup chopped onions

2 tablespoon dende (palm oil) or other cooking oil such as annato or peanut

1/4 cup chopped garlic

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 coconut milk

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon coriander

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3 dried red chilis (chopped finely)

1/2 cup rice

Preparation:

Warm oil on medium heat. Add paprika and the onions. Saute over low heat until onions are transparent. Add garlic, coriander, thyme, parsley, cilantro, chilis, and walnuts. Continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Add the tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring now and then. Finally add the broccoli, coconut milk, and shrimp. Cook for about 5 minutes (until shrimp are cooked).

Serve over rice.

Answer 2

Dende oil is Brazilian palm oil.  This bright orange palm oil is a staple in Brazilian cuisine, but very high in saturated fat.

Used in Brazilian and West African cooking palm or dende oil is made from the kernel of the palm fruit. The oil is thick and red-orange in color with a nutty flavor and high in saturated fat. Use to flavor stews and sauces, even used in some dessert recipes.

This is not the same as palm kernel oil which is used to produce some margerines as well as cosmetics.

Answer 3

Dende Oil aka Red Palm Oil

Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. Previously the second-most widely produced edible oil, after soybean oil, 28 million metric tons were produced worldwide in 2004. It may have now surpassed soybean oil as the most widely produced vegetable oil in the world.

The palm fruit is the source of both palm oil (extracted from palm fruit) and palm kernel oil (extracted from the fruit seeds). Palm oil itself is reddish because it contains a high amount of beta-carotene. It is used as cooking oil, to make margarine and is a component of many processed foods. Boiling it for a few minutes destroys the carotenoids and the oil becomes colourless. Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils relatively high in saturated fats (such as coconut oil) and thus semi-solid at room temperature.

It is also an important component of many soaps, washing powders and personal care products, and has controversially found a new use as a feedstock for biofuel.