Argan oil is produced from the fruits of the Argan tree which grows nowhere in the world except in southwestern Morocco. It is believed to date back 25,000,000 years and to have once covered N. Africa wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion.
It was first reported by the explorer Leo Africanus in 1510. Now only 860,000 hectares remain in S.W. Morocco and these are declining at a rate of 50,000h per year. Measures are being put in place to protect this rare and endangered species and in 1999 the argan was listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Heritage.
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The most labour intensive part of oil-extraction is removal of the soft pulp (used as animal feed) and the cracking by hand, between two stones, of the hard nut. The seeds are then removed and gently roasted.
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This roasting accounts for part of the oil's distinctive, nutty flavour. The traditional technique for oil extraction is to grind the roasted seeds to paste, with a little water, in a stone rotary quern. The paste is then squeezed between hands to extract the oil.
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Dry-pressing is now increasingly important for oil produced for sale, as the oil will keep 12-18 months and extraction is much faster.
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Goats like the pulp of argan fruits and often try to climb the trees to get at them. They will digest the pulp, but shed the undigested seeds in their feces.
As these have shells that are somewhat softened and easier to crack, they are occasionally used to produce oil for non-culinary purposes. An urban legend has it that all argan oil is produced this way. This myth seems to be based on the fact that occasionally, shrewd traders would have sold (and may still try to sell) such "non-food grade" argan oil to ignorant travellers or tourists.
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The fact that the nuts acquire a foul aroma in passing through the animal's digestive tract makes it easy to tell this oil apart from food-grade produce with its rich, walnut oil-like flavor.
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All argan sold today is produced by a women's cooperative that shares the profits among the local women of the Berber tribe. The cooperative has established an ecosystem reforestation project so that the supply of argan oil will not run out and the income that is currently supporting the women will not disappear. The money is providing healthcare and education to the local women, and supporting the entire community as a whole.
Argan oil is an oil produced from the kernels of the endemic argan tree, that is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties. The tree, a relict species from the Tertiary age, is extremely well adapted to drought and other environmentally difficult conditions of southwestern Morocco. The species Argania once covered North Africa and is now endangered and under protection of UNESCO. The Argan tree grows wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion and the northern advance of the Sahara. This biosphere reserve, the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, covers a vast intramontane plain of more than 2,560,000 hectares, bordered by the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains and open to the Atlantic in the west. Argan oil remains one of the rarest oils in the world due the small and very specific growing area.
Argan trees were first reported by the explorer Leo Africanus in 1510. An early specimen was taken to Amsterdam where it was cultivated by Lady Beaufort at Badminton c1711
Steps pressing argan oil:
1. The Argan fruits are mature ( around June ), they are dried.
2. Dried flesh is removed though a machine
3. The resulting nuts are manually crushed between two stones by women in order to obtain an intact almond
4. These almonds are then slightly roasted for culinary oil only ( Arganati ) Temperature : 100°C for roasting machine 30 kg of almonds need 2 hours for roasting. Although raw material is heated through roasting and extracting process, the peroxides value are definitely under international norms as mentioned in the here enclosed chemicals specifications
5. The almonds are then pressed through a special oil press to give argan oil ( the equipement is manufactured in Germany ) Argan oil is made of kernel of argan seeds without any additives. It is 100% pure natural products
6. The oil is then decanted into bottle and finally filtred in a special oil filter
Hope it brings something new to this nice argan oil review :)
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