Palm Oil was, and Remains, a Key Ingredient in West African Cuisine

Archaeological evidence shows that palm fruit and their oil already formed an integral part of West African diets 5,000 years ago. Throughout West Africa, palm oil was also used in soap making; today Yoruba black Dudu-Osun soap is a trademark Nigerian brand. In the Benin Kingdom, palm oil was used in streetlamps and as a building material in the king’s palace walls. It also found hundreds of different ritualistic and medicinal uses, as a skin ointment and a common antidote to poisons. In addition, the sap of oil palms was tapped for palm wine, and palm fronds provided material for roof thatching and brooms.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION