Palm cooking oil is the vegetable oil most used by Indonesians in their daily lives. Palm cooking oil is also commonly used as a cooking ingredient in many tropical countries such as in Africa, Brazil and in Southeast Asia.
The use of palm oil in the food industry is generally driven by its low production costs and its oxidative stability when used for frying.
The History of Palm Cooking Oil:
- In 1848, four oil palm seedlings were brought by the Dutch from Bourbon, Mauritius and the Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, Netherlands and planted in the Bogor Botanical Gardens.
- Five years later, in 1853 the oil palm trees began to bear fruit and the seeds were given away free of charge
- In 1911, oil palm trees began to be commercially cultivated by the Dutch in North Sumatra.
- In 1930 oil palms were planted on the roadside of Deli, South Sumatra as ornamental plants
- In 1957 the Indonesian government officially took over oil palm plantations previously owned by the Dutch.
- The success of palm oil production, which continues to rise, has led to palm oil replacing coconut oil as the cooking oil of choice.