Introduction to Noli Fruit Oil™
Noli fruit oil is used for frying without seed oils in restaurants. It’s expeller-pressed from a unique type of palm fruit grown exclusively on the Oleifera x Guineensis tree, a relative of other palm trees that produce coconuts, dates, and acai. Grown deforestation-free in Colombia, Oleifera x Guineensis is a non-GMO cross between the S. American Elaeis oleifera palm tree and the African Elaeis guineensis palm tree. Chefs who fry with Noli fruit oil report food has a cleaner crisp with a less greasy feel.
The name Noli fruit oil™ uniquely identifies distinct benefits compared to oil from conventional palm:
Higher monounsaturated fat content and less saturated fat, with a lighter finish and neutral taste
Higher levels of antioxidants, such as beta-carotene (Vitamin A precursor) and tocotrienols (Vitamin E)
No deforestation and higher yields, requiring 62% less land for the same amount of oil
Canola oil and soybean oil are some of the most common oils used for frying today. Here’s how Noli fruit oil compares:
Health
Similar to other fruit oils like avocado and olive, Noli fruit oil contains mostly healthy, monounsaturated fat [*] and is expeller-pressed without the use of hexane or other chemical solvents. Noli fruit oil is naturally rich in antioxidants, including beta-carotene and Vitamin E [*]. It is also made without synthetic antioxidants (like TBHQ), which are commonly added to other commercial frying oils [*].
Cleaner Frying
The most common frying oils used in restaurants today - like soybean, canola, and rice bran oils - are seed oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats. Compared to other types of fat, polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) break down and oxidize quickly under heat [*], releasing toxins like 4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) that are linked to poor health and weight gain [*]. At only 12% PUFA, Noli fruit oil contains about 3x less polyunsaturated fat than canola oil and 5x less than soybean oil.
Minimizing oxidation is particularly important with frying oil, a high volume staple in restaurant operations that has to be used throughout the day for hundreds of dishes, even as it’s breaking down. While a higher smoke point may indicate a suitable temperature for use, lower polyunsaturated fat content (PUFA) is a useful measure for reducing oxidation over time, positively impacting fried food taste and health. Noli fruit oil’s lower polyunsaturated fat content of 12% is an advantage for chefs seeking fried food that tastes clean without off-flavors.
Zero Acre Farms tested Noli fruit oil with chefs across the country. One of the first to test the oil was Michelin-starred Chef Stuart Brioza, co-owner of San Francisco’s State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar. He put Noli fruit oil to the Potato Chip Test, what he calls “the gold standard” for testing the quality of frying oil. With just potatoes, oil, and a bit of salt, there’s nowhere for the taste of the oil to hide.
“An exceptionally light chip. It so satisfied what you would want out of a potato chip. it was delicious and it checked all the boxes in terms of what a chip should taste like and perform like,” said Chef Stuart.
Dozens of chefs from fine-dining to fast casual also tested Noli fruit oil in their fryers. Each chef was asked to throw in the kitchen sink with the same intensity of a regular day of service: breaded eggplant, seafood, french fries, and beyond.
Through rigorous blind testing by nearly a dozen restaurant chefs, Noli fruit oil consistently outperformed every other frying oil, improving efficiency and resulting in delicious fried food with a crisp that lasted well into service.
90% of chefs estimated at least a 2x longer fry life
70% of chefs reported fried food was crispier or less greasy
Origins
In the early 1990s, areas of South America, like Colombia and Ecuador, had a problem: a plant-based disease was harming the apical buds, or growth points, of their palm tree population. Knowing this could wipe out their palms, farmers turned to the common agricultural practice of cross-pollination for a solution.
By breeding the South American Elaeis oleifera and African Elaeis guineensis trees, Oleifera x Guineensis was born. This agricultural breakthrough returned the local palm trees to healthy growth and led to a distinct fruit with an unexpected advantage–more flesh instead of the large seed inside conventional palm fruit. When pressed, this fruit yields a distinctly better oil for frying [*].
Since then, the fruit of Oleifera x Guineensis has been pressed and consumed as oil across South America, and Zero Acre Farms is bringing Noli fruit oil to restaurants in the U.S. with a focus on culinary performance and 100% traceability, as Noli fruit oil comes exclusively from deforestation-free farms [*]. This deforestation-free commitment further distinguishes Noli fruit oil from conventional palm oil, a major contributor to global deforestation, biodiversity loss, pollution, and the destruction of peatlands [*].
*View results from latest lot codes here.
Small fruit, Big difference
There are over 2,600 species of palm trees around the world yielding fruits like coconuts, dates, and acai. Noli fruit oil comes from a unique type of palm fruit that is distinct from conventional varieties. It has a clean, neutral taste, mostly monounsaturated fat, and needs 62% less land than oil from conventional palm fruit. Noli fruit oil is pressed specifically from the fruit, unlike seed oils or palm kernel oil.
Environmental Impact
30% of croplands worldwide are used to grow oil crops, making it the fastest growing subsector of global agriculture [*,*].
However, Noli fruit oil requires 95% less land than soybean oil, instead needing only 0.3 acres per metric ton of oil. Put into perspective, if conventional seed oils require an entire football field worth of land to produce about 500 lbs of oil per year, Noli fruit oil would need less than one end zone.
In addition to land efficiency, the way a crop is grown and harvested impacts soil health. Most oil crops like soybean are annual monocrops, which means their roots are dug up and removed from the soil each year, depleting the soil’s natural resources. The Oleifera x Guineensis tree that produces Noli fruit oil is a perennial crop, so its roots remain in the ground as the fruit is harvested, improving soil health with less disturbance and erosion.
