Red Palm Oil: This rich, red oil is a staple and necessity for real West African food. It is pressed from the fibrous flesh around the nut of the fruit of the oil palm. Palm oil, also known as manja or zomi, is used liberally in soups and sauces, yet because of the unique flavour and aroma the dishes are delicious rather than greasy and oily.

Although it gets a bad reputation for being highly saturated, red palm oil is actually healthier that white palm oil. Red palm oil is about 50% saturated. White palm oil is extracted from the palm kernel itself, and does not have the same deep red color and flavor of red palm oil. White palm oil is often used in commercial baked products and cosmetics, and merely labeled "palm oil." It is about 80% saturated.