“Atili” (Canarium schweinfurthii bursaraceae) is the fruit of the perennial tree plant also called “atili”’ tree. In Nigeria,the fruit is called ‘ube okpoko’ in Ibo and “atili”in Hausa. The fruit is commonly found in large quantity in Pankshin, Plateau State of Nigeria and is also produced in similar quantities in other states of the northern and south eastern Nigeria.
Detailed description
The plant produces its fruits in the rainy season (usually)between the months of April and September. The flowers grow in clusters at the end of the twigs and are small and dark green in colour. The fruits which are of two varieties long spiral and short round in shape develop from the flowers. The fruits contain single triangular-shaped seed with small projections at the three edges. The seeds are embedded in a purplish green pulp with a desirable sweet but not too sugary taste similar to that of avocado pear. The pulp is of oily consistency and edible. The weight of the fruits ranges from 3.5 to 9 g with a predominant average weight of about 5.3 g. The fruit is very hard, the seed is cooked and yields an oil, sometimes used as a substitute for shear butter (Kochar, 1981). The fruit store best under cold storage thus, preventing moisture loss that may result in shrinkage of the fruit surface reducing its aesthetic value and also prevent microbial growth. The importance of lipids in human diet cannot be over emphasized. In normal diet, about 20-25% of the caloric intake consist of fats and oils. These substances are the most concentrated form of energy in human diet, when metabolized, fats produce about 9.5 kcal/g (Okaka et al., 2002). Crude “atili” oil for both long and short varieties are rich in fat, protein, carbohydrate, water and sometimes ash in low quantity. In spite of its rich nutrient content, it is cheaper than groundnut oil especially during the hot season when they are locally produced more abundantly, it is used in frying different kinds of foods such as meat, bean cake and fish. It is rich in flavour; therefore it is sprinkled on food like cooked rice and smoked fish before consumption. It is also used as an alternative ointment in healing wounds in villages around Plateau State.
PRICE
$24.64/KG OR $11.20/IB
For more information:
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