We love to try new foods. Some don’t measure up and some become staples in our kitchen. See what you think.
Carotino oil is a blend of canola oil and red palm fruit oil. The first thing that will strike you is the beautiful orange-red color of the oil. This color creates buttery-looking batters and biscuits and provides a wonderful glow to sautéed foods. We pan-grilled plain fish on a nonstick pan with a small amount of Carotino and the fish sparkled with color. Most of you know that canola is a multipurpose, mild tasting cooking oil, high in polyunsaturated fats, but where does red palm oil come from?
Palm oil can be derived from two sources: it can be extracted from the palm fruit, much like squeezing olives for oil; or it can be extracted from the kernel or seed of the palm fruit. The second method results in palm kernel oil. which is similar to coconut oil and higher in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fats. Palm fruit oil, which is used in Carotino, has equal amounts of saturated and polyunsaturated fats. When mixed with canola oil, Carotino’s fat composition becomes even healthier.
One tablespoon of Carotino oil has 120 calories, typical of most vegetables oil, 14 grams of total fat (2 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of polyunsaturated fat and 8 grams of monounsaturated fat). Because it is a plant-based oil it is cholesterol free. By mixing red palm oil with canola oil the fat makeup of Carotino is similar to olive oil. In addition, one tablespoon provides 40% (2000 IUs) of your daily need for vitamin A and 15% (5 IUs) of vitamin E.
Carotino can be used in place of any vegetable oil and is heat stable making it a good choice for stir-frying. The oil is halal and kosher certified (OK). This product will become a staple in our kitchens. We just wish it had wider availability.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a question. My mom she recently bought Carontino Red Palm Oil as her friends recommended her as a healthy product. But I read several research articles about Red Palm Oil, yeah it’s rich to Vitamin A and healthy BUT from another side it is promoting Heart desease! So, how it can be useful then and why we need to buy it? Why they are not ban it if it’s harmful for health?! I didn’t understand this!
Happy to answer your question. You are confusing palm kernel oil with red palm oil. Red palm oil is more like olive oil and healthy. Palm kernel oil has more saturated fat and is not the best choice. Carotino can be purchased as either red palm oil or red palm oil mixed with canola oil (another heathly choice).
Hi, I bought half a dozen of this bottle of oil and ended up was told by family members that palm oil is very high in cholesterol and was the worst oil among all. Can you clarify this with me? thanks!
Happy to answer your question. You are confusing palm kernel oil with red palm oil. Red palm oil is more like olive oil and healthy. Palm kernel oil has more saturated fat and is not the best choice. Carotino can be purchased as either red palm oil or red palm oil mixed with canola oil (another healthy choice).
No vegetable oil has cholesterol because cholesterol is only found in foods from an animal source. If you are ever in doubt about whether a food has cholesterol ask this question, “Does the food have a face?” It sounds silly but it works every time. Corn oil — from corn — no face. Olive oil — from olives — no face. Lard — from animal fat — a face. Egg — from a chicken — a face.
Hope all this helps. Enjoy using the oil. It is great and a healthy choice.