Of all our time writing and trying and, in some cases, worshiping superfoods, there’s one I haven’t tried yet (and, honestly, we haven’t really even discussed): red palm. Red palm is a plant-based oil and contains high amounts of goodies like vitamin A and E, plus it’s full of antioxidants and has a decent smoke point (302 degrees), so you can use it in a lot of medium-heat cooking. Red palm is also gluten-free and doesn’t require fridge time.
So, yeah, it has some things going on.
And when Nutiva sent me a jar of its Organic Unrefined Red Palm Oil, plus a tub of its new Organic Vegan Buttery Spread and Organic Vegan Superfood Shortening, well, there was just one thing to do. Make. Some. Food.
Nutiva Organic Vegan Buttery Spread
I began with the buttery spread — because butter. Red palm has a naturally bright yellow-orange color to it (the same compounds in it turn carrots orange!), so the butter has a super bright color that looks fake — but isn’t.
Although it’s a little hard to get out of the tub and doesn’t always spread the best (it’s refrigerated, so if you can put it on something warm though that helps), it tastes great and buttery and is made from a mix of palm oil, red palm oil and coconut oil. I used it on everything from pancakes to gluten-free toast to steamed veggies, and it was great. Didn’t miss butter in the least — and this is non-GMO, gluten-free, organic, vegan and fair trade.
It can also be used 1:1 for butter in baking. And, gosh, I had to test that with this amazing gluten-free banana bread recipe I made from Girl Makes Food. And then I had to slather a little on top for more testing. It was fabulous.
Nutiva Organic Unrefined Red Palm Oil
Up next was the straight-up red palm oil. Now, remember, I’d never cooked with it or even really seen it plain before. So about that bright and unique orange color? Yep, here it is.
You can use red palm oil pretty much like you do any other cooking oil, so I used it in egg scrambles, stir-fry, pad thai and even this zoodles recipe that is AMAZING.
Now, there’s been a lot of press about red palm oil and deforestation, but Nutiva is big on its red palm being totally organic, fair trade and, according to the company, “does not contribute to deforestation or habitat destruction.” Rock on.
Red palm oil doesn’t have much of a taste to it — maybe a little like carrot — but it is very rich and buttery. And it will make whatever you’re cooking turn a little yellow, so just be aware of that. I really love it when cooking though now that I’ve tried it. (Always nice to use something other than olive oil!) And it doesn’t require any refrigeration.
Nutiva Organic Vegan Superfood Shortening
The last Nutiva goodie I tried was the vegan shortening. Over the last few years there have been cookie and baking recipes that I have purposely not tried because they called for shortening. Who wants to cook with that stuff? But this is different. So different. Made from a mix of palm fruit oil, red palm oil and virgin coconut oil, it’s not scary at all!
With just a slightly yellow color due to the red palm, this vegan shortening is smooth, light and even a little airy. You can use it like butter for baking and frying.
I made vegan peanut butter cookies from Elana’s Pantry to test it. Oh, yeah.
Although my peanut butter cookies didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as Elana’s, they tasted great and the shortening worked really, really well. Also, organic, gluten-free, fair trade and non-GMO, I’ll certainly be using more of it — and no longer screening out recipes that call for shortening.
So, yeah, I’m a red palm fan! Granted, you gotta get the sustainable sourced kind like Nutiva, but this stuff is great — for vegans or not.
Has anyone else tried cooking with red palm? Like it? Love it? —Jenn