Argan oil is a plant oil produced from the endemic argan ( Argania spinosa L.) plant in Morocco. In Morocco, argan oil is used to dip bread at breakfast or to drip couscous or pasta. It is also used for cosmetic purposes.
Video Argan oil
Extraction
Fruit from small argan trees, and round, oval, or conical. The thick skin covers the fleshy pulp. Pulp surrounds the hard pulp representing about 25% of the weight of fresh fruit.
The nuts contain one to three oil-rich argan beans. The extraction results from 30% to 50% of the oil in the kernel, depending on the method of extraction.
Extraction is the key to the production process. To extract the kernel, the worker first dries the fruits in the open air and then discards the fleshy pulp. Some manufacturers remove meat mechanically without drying the fruit. Moroccans usually use meat as animal feed. There is a tradition, in some areas of Morocco, that allow goats to climb an argan tree to be fed freely to fruits. The kernel is then extracted from goat droppings, greatly reducing the labor involved in extraction at the expense of some potential gustatory avoidance. In modern practice the skin is removed by hand.
The next stage involves cracking the argan nut to get an argan kernel. Attempts to mechanize this process do not work, so the workers still do it by hand, making it time-consuming, labor-intensive process. Berber women are often involved in this difficult task.
Workers gently toast the kernels they will use to make argan oil. After the kernel argan becomes cold, the workers grind and press it. Chocolate-pounded chuck away pure unleaded argan oil. Finally, they poured unleaded argan oil into the vessel. The remaining press cake is rich in protein and is often used as animal feed.
Argan oil cosmetics are produced almost identically, although the argan seed is not baked to avoid the scent that is too spicy.
Argan oil is poured to rest for about two weeks so that suspended solids settle at the bottom. The clearer argan oil is further filtered, depending on the clarity and purity required. Pure argan oil may contain some sediment.
Maps Argan oil
Properties and use
Argan oil has a relative density of 20 Â ° C (68 Â ° F) ranging from 0.906 to 0.919.
Argan oil contains tocopherol (vitamin E), phenol, carotene, squalene, and fatty acids, (80% unsaturated fatty acids). The main natural phenols in argan oil are caffeic acid, oleuropein, vanilic acid, tyrosol, catechol, resorcinol, (-) -epicatechin and () - catechin.
Depending on the method of extraction, argan oil may be more resistant to oxidation than olive oil.
Culinary
Culinary argan oil (argan food oil) is used to dip bread, in couscous, salad and similar use. Amlou, a thick chocolate paste with a consistency similar to peanut butter, is used locally as a bread sauce. It is produced by grinding baked almonds and argan oil using stones, and then mixing argan oil and almonds in honey.
Various claims about beneficial effects on health due to argan oil consumption have been made. A research article published in 2010 found that argan oil contains higher levels than other oils? -Tocopherol, which has strong chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory properties.
Cosmetics
Moroccans traditionally use Argan oil that is not burnt to treat skin diseases, and as a cosmetic oil for skin and hair.
Argan oil has become increasingly popular for cosmetic use. The number of personal care products in the US market with Argan oil as a material increased from only two in 2007 to over 100 in 2011. Argan oil is also sold without additives as a natural skin care and hair care product.
The increasing popularity of Argan oil has prompted the Moroccan government to plan for increased production, with their aim to increase annual output from about 2,500 to 4,000 tons by 2020.
Impact
Environment
Argan trees provide food, shelter and protection from desertification. Deep root of the tree helps prevent desert encroachment. Argan tree canopies also provide shade for other agricultural products, and leaves and fruits provide feed for animals.
Argan trees also help to stabilize the landscape, help prevent soil erosion, provide shade for pasture grasses, and help fill the aquifers.
Producing argan oil has helped protect argan trees from being felled. In addition, Arganeraie regeneration has also been carried out: in 2009 an operation to plant 4,300 argan plants was launched in Meskala in Essaouira province.
RÃÆ'Â © seau des Associations de la RÃÆ'Â © serve de BiosphÃÆ'¨re Arganeraie (Network of the Association of Argan Biosphere Reserve, RARBA) was established in 2002 with the aim of ensuring sustainable development in Arganeraie.
RARBA has been involved with several major projects, including a national anti-certification program of Morocco (National Program de Lutte contre la desertification, PAN/LCD). The project involves local people and helps to improve basic infrastructure, natural resource management, income-generating activities (including argan oil production), capacity building, and so on.
Social
Argan oil production always has a socioeconomic function. Currently, argan oil production supports about 2.2 million people in the main argan oil producing region, Arganeraie.
Most of the argan oil produced today is made by a number of female cooperatives. Financed jointly by the EU-supported Social Development Agency, the Union des Cooperative des Femmes de l'Arganeraie is the largest union of argan oil cooperatives in Morocco. It consists of 22 cooperatives found in other parts of the region.
Work in cooperatives gives women income, which is widely used to finance education for themselves or their children. It also gives them a degree of autonomy in traditional male-dominated societies and has helped many people become more aware of their rights.
The success of argan cooperatives has also encouraged other agricultural products producers to adopt cooperative models. The establishment of the cooperative has been aided by support from within Morocco, especially Fondation Mohamed VI pour la Recherche et la Sauvegarde de l'Arganier (Mohammed VI Foundation for Argan Trees Research and Protection), and from international organizations, including the Canadian International Development Research Center and the European Commission.
References
External links
- Media related to Argan oil in Wikimedia Commons
- "Multilingual Taxonomic Information". University of Melbourne.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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