Price: $14.92 for 16.9-ounces
While the more popular use of ‘palm oil’ here in the US is for skin care, in Brazil, it’s known for the unique and delicious flavor and color it imparts to two dishes; Moqueca de Camarao (shrimp stew) and Moqueca de Peixe (fish stew). These are two popular stews share this sauce that is known for its unique flavor and finished pale yellow color after adding your coconut milk. In Brazil palm oil is called ‘Azeite or Oleo de Dende’ (oil of palm).
To bring this home, we’re an American-Brazilian family. And both my wife and I cook. So in preparing for a large lunch at our home for a number of friends, we’re featuring Brazilian Bacalhau (cod fish stew, not with red palm oil), and as an additional entrée, Moqueca de Camarao, shrimp stew. However, we didn’t have any Red Palm Oil in our pantry. While our local Brasilian Mercado had one brand, I wasn’t sure it would be a ‘best choice.’ The highest quality palm oils I know of come from West Africa and are not blended with other oils. And yes, West Africa is the point of origin for Juka’s brand.
Because we’d not prepared this dish and the sauce before, I decided to watch a number of online videos. , but not seeing any direct brand recommendations, I search for and finally found one Brasilian chef who used a very similar oil. But refining my search in Amazon, I settled on Juka’s Organic. When my container of Juka’s palm oil arrived, it came in a glass container, not plastic, and was well sealed with an outer clear plastic bag. I experienced no leaks or any damage.
I go into more detail about the oil and how I used it in my video review. In summary, this ‘first time venture’ using Red Palm Oil was successful. Juka’s brand performed as expected and I now have the confidence level in using Juka’s Organic as it was also recommended by a family friend who’s a Brazilian chef and has national television exposure on a major food network. So with her input and my success with Juka’s palm oil, I feel comfortable recommending it for its use in cooking. And most certainly would recommend it for African-Brazilian cuisine.