How to Use African Shea Butter

August 20, 2015

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.

The nuts of shea tree can be collected and processed by crushing and grinding by hand or a machine to yield shea butter.

Shea nuts

It takes approximately 20 years for a tree to bear fruit and produce nuts, maturing on average at 45 years. Most trees will continue to produce nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.

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

African shea butter is a multi-purpose skincare lotion. Apply African shea butter to your scalp for deep conditioning, moisturize your skin, especially elbows, knees and the heels of your feet with African shea butter. African shea butter has been used for centuries on dry skin, and protection from harsh weather on your lips and face.

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.