ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Gru-Gru Nut. The mesocarp oil can be used as cooking oil, without refining, if extracted from fresh or properly stored fruits. The mesocarp oil is also used for soaps. The kernel oil, with a sweet taste like coconut oil, is used as an edible oil, e.g., in the preparation of margarine. In commercial production, palm fruits first are harvested and removed from the panicles upon which they are formed. Sterilization is next, to inactivate the enzymes present in the mesocarp. These enzymes can cause deterioration of the oil through lipolysis, an increase of the free fatty acid content known commercially as rancidity. A so-called "hard oil", with up to 94.5% free fatty acids, is made by fermenting rather than sterilizing the ripe palm fruits.
