Macadamia oil

Opened macadamia fruit with brown seeds (the macadamia nut)

General chemical structure of oils, such as macadamia oil. R ¹ , R ² and R ³ therein are alkyl radicals or alkenyl radicals with a mostly odd number of carbon atoms. Macadamia oil is - like other vegetable oils - a mixture of tri esters of glycerine .

Macadamia oil is a vegetable oil which is obtained from the seeds of the macadamia trees . Cold-pressed , it has a light yellow to golden color and a slightly nutty odor.

The macadamia nut has a fat content of approx. 75%. The contained triglycerides - that tri fatty acid esters of glycerol - are mainly derivatives simple unsaturated fatty acids , especially oleic acid.

ingredients

The fat content of the nut is very high, but in addition to this it also contains iron , magnesium , calcium and potassium . Important vitamins such as vitamin A , vitamin B1 and B2 and vitamin E are also found in the macadamia nut. There are also squalene and the typical phytosterols β-sitosterol , stigmasterol and campesterol .

The triglycerides in the oil are approx. 20% esters of palmitoleic acid . Among the esterified fatty acids are also found

The oxidation stability is 3.6-19.8 hours. The iodine number is around 70–80, the saponification number 190–200, the melting point at −12 ° C.

Extraction

Macadamias are originally found in the rainforests of Australia , but they are also grown in Hawaii , New Zealand , South Africa, Kenya and Central and South America . The macadamia trees only produce the first fruits after 7 to 10 years. The drupes are mature about 2 to 4 cm in size, their stone cores are the brown macadamia nuts .

The fruits are picked up from the ground by hand and then freed from their outer skin and pulp with the help of machines. For the production of the oil, the hard stone kernels (nuts) are opened and the kernels are cold-pressed, thereby preserving the valuable ingredients. The oil can be obtained in better yield and inferior quality but also by solvent extraction.

application

Macadamia oil serves as a substitute for mink oil in hair care . Due to the high content of palmitoleic acid, macadamia oil also has a nourishing effect on the skin.

Since macadamia oil is heat-resistant, it is also suitable for frying in the kitchen.

literature

Sabine Krist: Lexicon of vegetable fats and oils. 2nd edition, Springer, 2013, ISBN 978-3-7091-1004-1 , pp. 433-438.

Individual evidence

↑ LS Maguire, SM O'Sullivan, K. Galvin, TP O'Connor, NM O'Brien: Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut. In: Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 55 (3), 2004, pp. 171-8, PMID 15223592 .
↑ Naveed Akthar et al. a .: Evaluation of Basic Properities of Macadamia Nut Oil. In: Gomal University Journal of Research. 22: 2006, pp. 21-27.
↑ Eric A. Decker, Ryan J. Elias, D. Julian McClements: Oxidation in Foods and Beverages and Antioxidant Applications. Vol. 2, Woodhead, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84569-983-3 , p. 281.

[1] LS Maguire, SM O'Sullivan, K. Galvin, TP O'Connor, NM O'Brien: Fatty acid profile, tocopherol, squalene and phytosterol content of walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut. In: Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 55 (3), 2004, pp. 171-8, PMID 15223592 .

[2] Naveed Akthar et al. a .: Evaluation of Basic Properities of Macadamia Nut Oil. In: Gomal University Journal of Research. 22: 2006, pp. 21-27.

[3] Eric A. Decker, Ryan J. Elias, D. Julian McClements: Oxidation in Foods and Beverages and Antioxidant Applications. Vol. 2, Woodhead, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84569-983-3 , p. 281.