Argan tree (scientifically known as argon spinose) grows only in one place in the world: in the south-west of Morocco.
Local women processed about 30 kilograms of Argan fruit in almost 14 hours of pure hard work, only to get enough Argan kernels for 1 liter of its rare oil.
Depending on the type of Argan oil produced (culinary or cosmetic) This gift of God donated is used in various spheres of life.
Not only is it a very sought-after ingredient in almost any gourmet kitchen these days, but it also gained fame in medicine, as well as in cosmetic and cosmetic fields.
The Argan tree is one of the oldest trees in the world and is now in an intra-mass area with a very low average rain covering over 2,560,000 hectares.
It grows only in Morocco, and because of its exceptional importance to natives, UNESCO declared this area a protected biosphere reserve.
It is not surprising that the locals call it the “tree of life” because of its importance and because it provides them with wood, coal, food for their cattle and famous oil, which is considered one of the most valuable products in the world in recent years a decade.
Argan oil extraction
The harvest time of the Argan fruit is from July to August.
And unlike the olive tree, argania spiniosa cannot simply be shaken to speed up the harvesting process.
Therefore, women are obliged to collect fruits from the ground and discard the rest from the tree with stones in the reverse process.
That which also hardens the harvesting journey is trees. rough and thorny twisted stems.
And while many believe that most Argan oil in the markets today is extracted from fruits collected by goats, this is far from true, simply because the amount of Argan fruit needed to meet growing and growing global demand is far beyond what can be shed people.
After cracking argan nuts, which can contain from two to three almond-shaped kernels, women either traditionally roast them to improve the taste, and finally crush them using a hand stone mill to extract cooking oil Argan or they naturally process them to get cosmetic.
In the culinary version, the dough obtained after grinding the roasted kernels is hand-kneaded using hot water and then pressed to separate the oil from the rest.
Modern Argan oil production
Currently, to speed up the production process, a large number of manufacturers use machines to extract argan oil, especially cosmetic.
In the case of Argan cosmetic oil, no water is used, and the kernels are naturally grown without roasting.
This is what is now called “cold pressing”.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that it offers modern technology, the traditional production of this wonderful oil is gaining momentum again due to the high quality of the oil in Argan.
Fortunately, in both cases, in order to export Argan oil outside of Morocco, the manufacturer and / or exporter must provide documents of conformity confirming that his / her oil follows strict rules of quality and hygiene.
This ensures among other things The oil was produced in an environmentally friendly and environmentally sustainable form.
Argan oil in gastronomy
As I have already said, in recent decades, Argan oil has won fame not only in the cosmetic and cosmetic industry, but also has become one of the most popular gourmet dishes in the world.
Thanks to its delicate nutty flavor, it finds application as an independent dressing or as an important luxury ingredient in salads, vegetables, fish and meat dishes, to name a few.
In addition, the culinary version is so healthy that it deservedly surpassed olive oil due to its natural composition.
Many restructured chefs quickly realized that, thanks to their varied applications and benefits, Argan’s cooking oil plays in the same league as truffles and caviar.
This is also reflected in the price of this precious oil: one liter of genuine freshly prepared and organic cooking oil costs between $ 90 and $ 120, depending on the season!
Argan oil as skin and serum for hair
Although the culinary version can be used for both kitchen and cosmetic purposes, but here's the cosmetics (otherwise cold) one is the predecessor.
It has a surprisingly excellent effect on skin, nails and hair.
Thanks to its highly active and powerful ingredients, it not only soothes damaged skin, nails or hair, but is also an ideal solution for moisturizing, hydrating sensitive, aging and / or damaged skin, fragile unruly dry hair and weak nails
Some medical and medicinal properties
This liquid gold is not only a delicacy, but also an elixir of health and a real treasure simply because of the wide list of valuable components contained in it.
It has been clinically proven that the oil with the highest concentration of essential fatty acids (more than 80%) is mainly linoleic and oleic acids.
In addition to being rich in alpha-tocopherol, which has the highest activity of vitamin E, it also contains an extremely high dose of natural antioxidants that help protect against harmful free radicals and other environmental stresses.
It should also be noted that Argan oil has become a kind of special interest for scientists due to its content in schottenol and spinasterol.
However, the natives in Morocco have successfully used this for hundreds of years as a traditional multitasking tool for:
- Abdominal pain
- Intestinal problems
- Heart and circulatory problems
- sunburn
- Disinfectant wounds
- Soothing bites
- Holes
- Acne
- Chickenpox
- Eczema
- rheumatism
- Joint pain
- Hemorrhoids
... and many other problems and illnesses.
