Argan oil
Argania spinosa · Oil
Top 10 pairings
Argan oil is the golden, faintly nutty oil pressed from the kernels of the argan tree (Argania spinosa), a thorny, drought-hardy tree found almost only in south-western Morocco. The culinary grade — pressed from gently roasted kernels — is a prized finishing oil with a warm, toasted, hazelnut-like aroma, while an unroasted cosmetic grade is used on skin and hair.
Picking a good onedrag
Fresh-pressed, deep gold, toasted hazelnutPale and flat, smells of crayon
Open bottleEveryday bestFinish soup, carrot salad or grilled fish off the heat, never in the pan. Argan is a tree-kernel oil and undeclared, so ask a nut-allergic guest first.
Smell it before you buyNutty but quiet, the toast gone soft
Hold the bottle to the lightGolden, a little fine sediment settled below
How it is bottledDark glass, a size you will finish in months
Read the label, not the bottleMoroccan origin and a harvest or press year