Balanites aegyptiaca , 300g/$5, shipping $10, phyto certificate $12

300g/purchase 

General Information:

Balanites aegyptiaca also known as dessert date, soap berry tree, thron tree, is slow growing, evergreen or semideciduous, multi-branched, spiny shrub or tree with a spherical crown; it can grow up to 10 metres or more tall. It has a remarkably fluted bole that can be 30cm in diameter, and long, straight, green spines arranged spirally along the branches.

An important and very useful multipurpose tree, it is valued for its edible fruit, leaves and flowers and many other uses, being cultivated in several parts of Africa and in a few other places in the tropics.

Edible Uses:

The fleshy pulp of both unripe and ripe fruit is edible and can be eaten dried or fresh. It has a slightly astringent taste and can be purgative in larger quantities. The fruit is processed into a drink and sweetmeats in Ghana, young leaves and tender shoots are used as a vegetable. They are prepared by boiling and pounding, and are then fried or mixed with fat.

The flowers are a supplementary food in West Africa and an ingredient of ‘dawa dawa’ flavouring in Nigeria,they are sucked in order to obtain their nectar.

A greenish-yellow to orange-red resin is produced from the stems. It is sucked and chewed when fresh.

The kernels produce an edible oil used for cooking, the oil remains stable when heated and has a high smoking point, and therefore its free fatty acid content is low. Its scent and taste are acceptable and the seed contains up to 50% oil.