Oils & fats · Plant fats & spreads
Palm nut cream (palm butter)
Thick red concentrate of palm fruit pulp, the base of West African palm nut soups and palm butter stew.
Also called: palm butter, palm nut concentrate, palm soup base, sauce graine, banga, abenkwan base, noix de palme
Around the world: sauce graine, crème de noix de palme (fr)
What it is
Palm nut cream (palm butter, palm soup base, sauce graine) is the pulp of boiled oil-palm fruits, pounded and sieved, sold canned or fresh. It is thicker and fruitier than red palm oil because it contains the whole fruit flesh and is usually diluted with stock to make soup.
How it’s used
- Ghanaian abenkwan (palm nut soup)
- Nigerian banga soup
- Liberian palm butter stew
- Ivorian sauce graine with fish or chicken
Characteristics
- Taste
- Rich, fruity, savoury.
- Texture
- Thick paste with a layer of oil on top.
- Sold as
- paste, canned
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling, Used for thickening
- Common in
- Ghanaian, Nigerian, Liberian, Ivorian, West African, Sierra Leonean, Cameroonian
Storage
Pantry-stable. Unopened cans keep in the cupboard; once opened, refrigerate in a covered container and use within a few days, or freeze.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 3.63 g
- Carbohydrate
- 6.65 g
- Fat
- 34.68 g
- Fibre
- 2.2 g
- Sugars
- — g
USDA FoodData Central: Nuts, coconut cream, raw (liquid expressed from grated meat) (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Red palm oil — A few spoonfuls of red palm oil with extra stock gives the colour and some flavour but not the body.
Related ingredients
Recipes with palm nut cream (palm butter)
Palm butter
Liberian · 1 h 30 min · 689 kcal
