Argania Spinosa Tree

Information About The Healthy Argan Oil

The argan tree, with its botanical name as Argania Spinosa has been used for centuries in the production of edible oil in Morocco. Known locally as the morocco iron wood, the argan tree flourishes on the Taroudant slopes on the southern side of the Atlas Mountains. For centuries, Moroccan women have been involved in the extraction of beauty and edible oils from the argan tree. Nowadays however, there is the use of machines to process the oil in a more hygienic and commercially viable way.
The argan tree is tenacious and deciduous in the dry seasons. It is also a very good source of food for the many goats found in south western Morocco. The goats have been known to climb up the tree in search for the highly nutritious fruits and leaves.
The argan tree has been on the verge of extinction due to over grazing and being cut down for fire wood by the local communities. The Moroccan government is making efforts to educate the local communities in the importance of the argan tree. This is aimed at reducing their over grazing and their need to cut down the tree for fire wood.
Economic ContributionThe tree contributes a big share to the economy of the community in south western Morocco. It is by far the best export product from that arid region. The fact that the argan tree only grows on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains and few areas around the world means that there is constant demand of the highly beneficial argan oil products.
Extracting Argan OilThe women in Morocco are involved in the collection of the fruits of the argan tree which are stored in their granaries for some time. The fruits are then left to dry in the sun and as soon as they are dry; the outer flesh is removed to give the useful part of the fruit for oil production. The outer part is used in the production of animal feeds which are fed to the large flocks of goats that they keep.
Refining the OilThe nuts of the argan fruits are then broken by the use of a hand held stone which are then roasted, giving them their characteristically rich nutty flavor. The waste outer shells of the nuts are used as fuel by Moroccan women. After they are roasted, the nuts are grinded by a hand mill, while regularly adding warm water so as to separate the nuts and produce oil which is able to ooze down from the mill. The remaining past after the oil oozes out is also produced as an animal feed.
How Argan Oil is UsedThe oil produced is further refined to produce edible oil which is used in spicing food. Also the oil is used in the production of various beauty products after further processes to remove its odor. Today there is use of machinery in the production of argan oil which simplifies the work and also makes the product more hygienic and of better quality.