Meridian have combined their popular peanut butter with the unique citrussy and sweet flavour of African Superfood baobab to create a deliciously creamy yet zesty nut butter with a smooth texture – introducing Meridian’s special edition Peanut Butter & Baobab.
Food and Drink on Female First
With the new superfood being from Africa, Meridian turned to Malcolm O’Reilly, otherwise known as The African Chef, to shed some light on the special properties of Baobab.
Here are ten top things you might not have known about Baobab:
- There is often a lot of confusion around how to pronounce Baobab properly. Even in Africa, there are different pronunciations with West Africans pronouncing it as 'bau-bab’, and South Africans pronouncing it as ‘bay-O-bab’ or ‘bay-O-bob’. The most common and well-known pronunciation is ‘bay-O-bab’.
- Baobab is a large, iconic and ancient species of tree mainly native to Africa and Madagascar (but also found in parts of Australia and Arabia), where the climate is extremely dry and hot. Meridian sources its baobab from Senegal.
- Baobab trees can be found in 32 African countries. They can live for up to 5,000 years, reach up to 30 meters high and up to an enormous 50 meters in circumference. Baobab trees can provide shelter, food and water for animals and humans, which is why many African communities have made their homes near Baobab trees.
- Baobab trees are also known as ‘The Tree of Life’. This is because it can grow in environments where the climate is extremely hot and dry, without the need for any water or fertiliser. It can even produce during a drought, enabling it to produce a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season when not much else can grow.
- Baobab fruits are oblong shaped pods with a hard, woody outer shell covered in a yellowish green velvety coating. The pods hang from the tree in clusters and once cracked open (usually with a hammer), they reveal a dry whitish pulp and seeds.
- Baobab fruit is first harvested by hand by collecting the pods from the trees or off the ground. The fruit naturally dehydrates in its shell and once cracked opened, the pulp is separated from the seeds and shell.
- Baobab is one of the most nutrient dense foods in the world and is 100% natural. It is dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan-friendly, meaning it can provide essential nutrients to all consumers regardless of dietary requirements.
- Baobab is classified as a Superfood and offers a range of health benefits to consumers, with six times more Vitamin C than oranges, twice the amount of calcium than milk and extremely high antioxidant levels – more than double those of its nearest competitor, the Açai berry!
- Baobab has a sweet, citrusy taste – often described like tangy sherbet
- Many people don’t know how versatile baobab is as an ingredient. It can be used in a variety of ways including baking as a general cooking ingredient, thickening soups, sauces and gravy, added to smoothies / yoghurts, making jams and as an emulsifier