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This isn’t new to the Africans and Asians. It is commonly referred to as ‘Epo pupa’ (red palm oil) by the yoruba tribe of Nigeria in Africa due to its reddish colour. The oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the African oil palm. This colour is acquired from the same nutrients that give carrots, tomatoes and some other vegetables their rich colours; Carotenes. Palm oil contains so many nutrients that it can be defined almost as a dietary supplement, a powerhouse of nutrients!
Red palm oil is an essential ingredient blended into a number of everyday processed foods including something as common as Mayonnaise. Like vegetable oil, it is used for frying and cooking but differs in that it is heat stable and therefore its quality does not diminish when subjected to high heat. It is used in preparing quite alot of African dishes including popular soups like Egusi, Ndole & Banga and vegetable stews like the Bitter leaf stew, Afang e.t.c.
That’s not all though, it is also used in the manufacturer of anti-aging cosmetics, soaps and alot more. The health benefits are also fantastic because it contains such a high level of antioxidants, vitamins E, K and can be converted to vitamin A in our bodies. Waow!
Now let’s talk about what we use Palm oil for……… COOKING for me! If you are a lover of African food such as Beans, Egusi, Ogbono, Moi Moi (to mention just a few) and you don’t use Palm oil; May I ask what you use? Hmmm, you may have been doing some great injustice to yourself; to cooking and to the people that are to enjoy the food with you. I see it almost like celebrating christmas without eating chicken. Now you see what I mean.?!?!?
So would you use a Dutch Pot? Did I hear…mmmmm, not sure? Must be kidding, these pots are an ‘all-in-one’, versatile wonder!
Commonly referred to as the Dutchie or Casserole dish in British English, these round bottom Dutch pots are perfect for slowly stewing, long cooking or boiling to produce authentic dishes like in the days of old.
These pots have gone thorough some evolution; initially seen as thick-walled cast iron pots used for cooking on outdoor fires with coal heaped both on the lid of the pot as well as underneath to give an ‘all-round’ temperature pot, modern Dutch pots are now also made with Aluminium or Ceramic. These modern version are smooth-bottomed and designed mainly for use on cookers although they can still be used outdoors on charcoal cookers.
They can be used for almost anything; from baking in which case they act exactly like an oven with the baking tray placed inside the pot…. to frying where the lid can be flipped over to serve as a non-stick frying pan to preparing soups like fish tea, pepperpot and peanut, casseroles, meats or main dishes like rice and peas or ackee and saltfish. They also add a delicious flavour to food..pretty much like you have a nice ‘charcoal’ flavour on food barbequed on charcoal.
Buy a Dutch Pot here and watch out for some Dutch Pot recipes coming soon to Africarr.com.
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