Palm nut oil, the staple in all Ghanaian food, has a long and intensive production process. So when my family (my Ghanaian family) says they are spending the day making palm nut oil, I now that they will be at it from dusk till dawn… or rather from the previous day till the following evening (because they have to go to their farm to get the palm nuts).

The famous palm nut grown on palm nut trees (also the same trees to make palm wine) gives off the fruit to make the famous palm nut oil. Most farms will have a few palm nut trees scattered around their farm for the harvesting of the palm nut to make oil, and palm nut soup (literally oil soup…yuck).

Step One: Pluck the palm nut from the husk.

Step Two: Boil the palm nut in water for close to 20 hours

Step Three: Strain the palm nut from the water and pound the nut till it is completely broken open.

Step Four: In a large bowl, work the mashed up palm nuts with a long stick and gradually add water to separate the oil form the kernel.

Step Five: Pull out all the stingy pulp.

Step Six: Separate the kernel from the oil (yes inside the palm nut is the palm kernel, which is also used to make palm kernel oil).

Step Seven: Start boiling the oil to evaporate all the water.

Step Eight: Strain the oil again to get rid of any last bit of pulp.

Step Nine: Boil the oil down still you are left with bright red palm nut oil.

After the palm oil is made, the pulp from the palm nut is dried out and used a fire starter, and the kernel is also dried out and later turned into palm kernel oil.