Argan Oil

Slow Food Presidium

Morocco

Marrakech-Safi

Souss-Massa

Oil

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Argan Oil

The argan tree is similar to the olive tree but can only be found on the southern coast of Morocco between the cities of Safi (to the north) and Goulimime (to the south). This is an impoverished, dry area that gets very hot during the summer. Since the beginning of time this oil, pressed from berries that mature between July and August, has played a key role in the cuisine of the Berbers, a nomadic Semite population present in North Africa long before the Arabic invasion (7th century C.E.).
Almost 50 kilos of fruit (apricot kernels) are needed to produce just a meager half liter of oil, a low yield for a product where the processing is long and tedious. For these reasons, argan’s market price (approximately € 25 a liter) is much higher than that of olive oil.
In Morocco, the production of argan oil is women’s work; traditional knowledge is passed down from mother to daughter. With simple, repetitive movements, the women break the hard shells of the pits with a stone, and extract and chop the kernel. They add a few drops of warm water to this rough paste to help extract the oil, and the mixture is pressed in a small homemade mill made from two large stones, one balanced atop the other.
Argan oil is a deep golden yellow color and the flavor is unmistakable and intense, with notes of hazelnut and crudités. A few drops can be added to a freshly cooked pot of couscous, a fish or meat tajine or crudités. It can also be consumed alone on a simple piece of bread.
Mixed with almonds and honey, argan oil is used for amlou beldi, the traditional creamy spread that is offered to visitors together with bread and mint tea as a sign of welcome. In the countryside, a few drops of this oil are used to feed newborns as their first food. Argan oil can also act as a skin-moisturizer, pomade or healing ointment.

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The Presidium was founded in 2001 thanks to University of Rabat Professor Zoubida Charrouf. Collecting the fruit, husking it and extracting the oil serve as social occasions; the women meet, take courses and learn to read and write. The Argan Oil Presidium also has environmental value. UNESCO has declared the stretch of land covered with 20 million trees (the Arganerie) a Biosphere Reserve. The Arganerie helps maintain the balance of the region bordering the Sahara and keeps the desert at bay.
Thanks to the support of the Piedmont Regional Authority, training courses have been organized for the women, experts have visited the Presidium to help improve the production process, and a recipe book, tasting manual and video to create a local panel of tasters have been published.

Production area
Agadir, Taroudant, Ait Baha, Chtouka and Tiznit provinces, Souss-Massa-Draa region. Essaouira province, Marrakech-Safi region
120 women gathered in 9 cooperatives
Presidium coordinator
Fatima Nacer
Tel. +212668722610
fatima_73@yahoo.fr
The Presidium was founded in 2001 thanks to University of Rabat Professor Zoubida Charrouf. Collecting the fruit, husking it and extracting the oil serve as social occasions; the women meet, take courses and learn to read and write. The Argan Oil Presidium also has environmental value. UNESCO has declared the stretch of land covered with 20 million trees (the Arganerie) a Biosphere Reserve. The Arganerie helps maintain the balance of the region bordering the Sahara and keeps the desert at bay.
Thanks to the support of the Piedmont Regional Authority, training courses have been organized for the women, experts have visited the Presidium to help improve the production process, and a recipe book, tasting manual and video to create a local panel of tasters have been published.

Production area
Agadir, Taroudant, Ait Baha, Chtouka and Tiznit provinces, Souss-Massa-Draa region. Essaouira province, Marrakech-Safi region
120 women gathered in 9 cooperatives
Presidium coordinator
Fatima Nacer
Tel. +212668722610
fatima_73@yahoo.fr

Other info

CategoriesOil