How to Use African Shea Butter
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Shea butter is a multipurpose cooking and skincare butter. Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. Food grade raw shea butter is edible and used in many food recipes. Shea butter has a very strong nutty taste and scent.
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| Shea nuts |
Eight
African countries produce high quantities of Shea nuts; they are in order
Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Togo and Guinea. The
nuts of shea tree can be collected and processed by crushing and grinding by
hand or a machine to yield shea butter. Shea has long been recognized for its
emollient and healing properties, ideal for soothing skin in the dry climate of
the region. Reports of its use go back as far as the 14th century.
Most
raw and unrefined Shea butter comes from producers in Africa who export the
product for further refining. Raw shea butter is butter is shea butter which
has not been filtered or molded into shapes and unrefined shea butter is
filtered and sometimes molded.
How to use African Shea butter
Food Grade Shea Butter Recipe
Shea Butter Mixed Nuts
Ingredients
2 tablespoons food grade raw shea butter
2 cups walnuts halves
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup sweet-flaked coconut
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300°. Add butter to a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking
pan; set the pan in the oven to melt the butter. Remove the pan from the oven;
add nuts and Worcestershire sauce to the melted butter. Gently stir until well
mixed. Bake the nut mixture until it is toasted, stirring occasionally, about
30 minutes. Mix all spices and coconut in a small bowl. Remove the nuts from
the oven and sprinkle the mixture evenly with spices. Toss until well mixed.
Transfer the warm nuts to a bowl and serve immediately, or let cool and store
them at room temperature in an airtight container until ready to serve.
