What Is Malaysian Palm Oil?
Talking about the composition of the palm oil, Prof. Aziz Tekin stated that the oil palm, having been first brought from West Africa to Malaysia in 1870, started to yield fruit in 2.5 – 3 years and its economic life is up to 25 years. Prof. Tekin: “Palm oil is a type of oil which is extracted from the fruit of the elais guineensis trees with a high level of palmitic acid and is solid in room temperature. It is derived from the mesocarp of the palm fruit however palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel.”
“It is possible to get 15 different fractions from palm oil by different crystallisation techniques. These fractions have different fatty acid diffusion and melting range. For example, palm oil melts at 33-39°C while palm olein – a fraction of palm oil- has a melting point of 20-22°C and palm stearin -another fraction of palm oil- around 50°C.”
“It is also possible to get fractions of palm kernel oil. Similar to coconut oil due to its fatty acid composition, palm kernel oil is commonly used in food and other (soap and detergent) industries because it contains about 82% short and medium-chain saturated fatty acids.
Palm oil is used in many countries in Asia, Far East and Africa as a cooking and frying oil.”
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