Tallow Tree


Ofor Fruit on Tree [Sweet Detar, Sweet Dattock; Ofor (Nigeria (ground seeds)); Ntamajalan (Bambara); Dankh, Petit Détar (French); Abu-laili (Sudan); Tamba Dala (Mali); Detarium microcarpum   |   Detarium senegalense   |   Detarium macrocarpum all of Family Fabaceae (Beans)]

These medium to large Trees are of very similar characteristics, have very similar uses, and share local names:
Detarium microcarpum grows to 62 feet (19 meters) in the dry savanna band from Senegal in West Africa to South Sudan in East Africa.
Detarium senegalense grows to 131 feet (40 meters in the dry forest band from Senegal to Nigeria. Fruit of some trees is toxic, and the only way to tell is that fallen fruit under a toxic tree will not be eaten by birds or animals.
Detarium macrocarpum grows to 196 feet (60 meters) in the moist forest band within Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon. Fruits are about 1-1/2 inches long (4 cm) and 1 inch (2.5 cm) diameter.   Photo by Marco Schmidt distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

The Fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, but the fruit pulp is more commonly dried and ground to a flour, though it is also suitable for concentrate and jam. Fruit can be stored for years, because the sweet pulp is dry and fibrous, similar to the related Tamarind.

Seeds are very popular hulled, shelled, and ground for use as a thickener and flavoring in soups and stews, or the kernels can be added whole as a vegetable. The ground form is called Ofor in Nigeria, and very popular there, particularly for Oha Soup.

Leaves are used as green vegetables, and Flowers are used condiments.

More on Beans, Peas and Lentils.


Buying

:   Ground seeds (Ofor) is available on-line for use as a flavoring thickener. No other parts are available in North America.

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