Next time you are in a supermarket, try to look at the label of different products. One out of two times you will find palm oil on the ingredients list. It doesn’t matter if you look at foods or cosmetics, palm oil is almost always used in the product. In this article, you will find out what palm oil is used for and why it is so popular.
What is palm oil?
But first, what is palm oil? Palm oil is extracted from palm fruits and gives structure to a lot of products. Think about chocolate for instance. The reason chocolate doesn’t melt is because of palm oil. Palm oil is also used for cooking. The oil is resistant to heat and is also relatively cheap. Production of palm oil is attractive because palm fruits from palm trees have a high oil content. One tree can produce a lot of oil. Palm trees grow in tropical environments. Indonesia and Malaysia are the main producers of palm oil.
Uses for palm oil
As mentioned before, many products contain palm oil. Your mind will get blown away once you go out and see for yourself. Because of its versatility and inexpensiveness, it’s used so much. Next time when you eat your chocolate think about how palm oil is giving it the structure and resistance to melting. What else is palm oil used for? Think about cosmetics such as your lip balm or body lotion. It helps with the texture of the product because it is semi-solid at room temperature. Palm oil may help hydrate and soften the skin too. The next use of palm oil will sound crazy but did you know that up to half of the imported palm oil is used to produce fuel for cars? You heard it right! Palm oil after it has been used as cooking oil will be reused to make biofuel. Crazy right?
Why is palm oil so popular?
There are several reasons why palm oil is so popular. It’s relatively inexpensive to produce and it has a long shelf life. In addition, palm oil is versatile and can be used in a variety of products, from cosmetics to food. It gives a lot of food texture. Palm oil is also used for cooking and baking as it is good at handling high temperatures. The texture of palm oil at room temperature makes it ideal for foods that need this spreadable texture. The production of palm oil is also very efficient. Finally, palm oil is very easy to transport as well.