palm butter

Palm butter, also known as palm nut cream, is a thick, rich cooking ingredient made from the cooked and processed pulp of the fruit of the African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). It ranges in colour from deep orange to reddish-orange or red and has a distinctive, rich palm-fruit flavour.

Palm butter is widely used in West and Central African cooking as a base for soups, sauces and stews, often combined with meat, chicken, fish or vegetables. In Central Africa it is closely associated with preparations known as moambe (mwambe) and related regional dishes.

Palm butter should not be confused with palm oil. Although both come from the fleshy part of the oil-palm fruit, palm oil is the extracted fat, while palm butter or palm nut cream retains more of the processed fruit pulp, giving it a thicker, creamier consistency.