Cohune oil
Cohune oil is pressed from the seeds of the cohune palm, which is native to Central and South America.
| Names | |
|---|---|
| IUPAC name Cohune oil | |
| Other names Cohune nut oil Cohune palm oil Attalea cohune seed oil | |
| Identifiers | |
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| UNII |
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| Properties | |
| Density | 1000 kg/m3, liquid (4 °C) (62.4 lb/cu. ft) 917 kg/m3, solid |
| Melting point | 28 °C[1] |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). | |
Along with other byproducts of the palm, cohune oil is believed to have been used by cultures in southern Mesoamerica since the pre-Columbian era, in particular by the Maya. Uses of the oil include as a lubricant, for cooking, soapmaking and lamp oil. For this latter purpose the oil was placed in earthenware or soapstone lamps and lit with a wick, for cooking and illumination.
Cohune oil is made up of the following portions of fatty acids:[2]
Commercialization edit
Cohune oil is generally not used commercially because the cohune palm is very difficult to break open.[3] However, the manufacture and usage of the oil continues among certain contemporary Maya communities in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.[4][5]
References edit
- ^ Dweck, Anthony (2011). (PDF). Allured Pub Corp. ISBN 978-1-932633-75-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-26. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
- ^ Axtell, B.L. (1992). "Cohune palm". Minor Oil Crops. from research by R.M. Fairman. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 92-5-103128-2. OCLC 26187175. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ Cohune oil at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Gann, Thomas W.F. (1918). The Maya Indians of Southern Yucatan and Northern British Honduras (PDF online facsimile of original, digitized [2008] by the Internet Archive). Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin no. 64. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 17, 31, 130–131. OCLC 424421.
- ^ Schlesinger, Victoria (2001). Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya: A Guide. Juan C. Chab-Medina (illus.), foreword by Carlos Galindo-Leal. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 116–119. ISBN 0-292-77759-0. OCLC 46937482.
External links edit
- Attalea cohune, Floridata