“Other” because the first “Berber gold” is saffron. Saffron and the argan tree are both found in the Sous region, but not in the same areas: saffron grows high up in the Jebel Siroua, while the argan tree grows in the plains.
The argan tree, a wild tree where everything is good
The Argan tree (Argania spinosa) grows only in the wild in southern Morocco, particularly in the Sous region, and has many uses:
- Its fruit, the argan nut, yields a food and cosmetic oil
- the oil cake left after pressing is used to fatten livestock
- its wood is used as fuel and for joinery
- its leaves and the pulp of the nut are used as food for the many herds of goats that can be found perched in its branches (my kernels, too hard to digest, are then collected to extract the oil),
- it’s a well-known attraction for tourists, who stop, take a few photos and give a few dirhams to the shepherds – who, incidentally, are increasingly demanding a toll.
The argan tree covers an area of 700 to 800 thousand hectares in the arid and semi-arid zones of the south, between Agadir and Essaouira. The argan grove was recognised by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve in 1999.
It has a short, gnarled trunk 8 to 10 metres high, numerous branches that start very low to the ground and are covered with thorny leaves, a yellow-green fruit that is larger than a walnut, oblong, containing two to three kernels, and multiple, very deep roots that enable it to fetch water and withstand very hot weather. (It also helps to stabilise the soil and combat erosion).
Argan oil, which is slightly darker than olive oil, has a very fine, nutty flavour. It has cosmetic, medicinal and culinary properties.
Benefits of argan oil
Argan oil for cosmetics
It is an excellent moisturiser and softener for the skin, and also strengthens the nails and makes dry hair supple and shiny.
It is traditionally used to treat chickenpox, juvenile acne and rheumatism. (But to be honest, having tested argan oil for rheumatism, it’s not very effective).
Like olive oil, it is recommended for combating ‘bad’ cholesterol. However, it is still an oil, and therefore a concentrate of fat that should not be abused.
Cosmetic products have developed considerably. In addition to the traditional argan oil and soaps, we now sell balms and creams in which argan is mixed with other fragrances such as figuebar, musk, rose or aloe vera.
Cooking with argan oil
En cuisine, on l’utilise pour aromatiser les salades, les soupes, les tagines et le couscous ou relever des plats d’œufs. Le mélange huile d’argan-amandes-miel, connu sous le nom d’Amlou, accompagne le pain du petit déjeuner traditionnel marocain. L’huile d’argan s’utilise aussi dans la cuisine européenne, elle accompagne agréablement les salades, les poissons froids… Par contre l’huile d’argan ne supporte pas les températures élevées ni les cuissons prolongées.
Argan oil and fair trade
Today, the argan tree provides subsistence for around three million rural people, either through the sale of nuts or through the work of women in cooperatives.
Production has been organised in cooperatives, grouped together under the Targanine brand, which distributes three products: Arganati, an edible oil (the nut has been roasted, and the oil has a hazelnut flavour), Arganium, a cosmetic oil (unroasted nut, tasteless oil), and Amlou Beldi, the Berber version of Nutella!
The nuts are crushed by women, who earn 40 dirhams a day. Once crushed, they are roasted or not, depending on their destination, then cold-pressed and bottled locally.
The different GIE Tagarine cooperatives each employ between 40 and 250 women (at Tamanar, the first and largest of the cooperatives).
Many Moroccans have pounced on this windfall, and cooperatives are springing up all over the place, even in the region of Fès where no one has ever seen an argan tree! Counterfeit products are now plentiful, and it’s best to trust a cooperative in the region of origin of the argan tree.
The processing of argan nuts :
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