Whereas palm oil is derived from the fruit of the oil palm, palm kernel oil is extracted from the kernel. Palm kernel is classified as lauric product due to their high levels of lauric acid (C12:0).
They are unique, as no other commodity plant oil contains more than 1% lauric acid (Pantzaris and Basiron, 2002).
Unlike other commodity oils, the lauric oils (particularly coconut oil) contain mainly saturated fatty acids, making them highly resistant to oxidation. Common food applications of the lauric oils include spreads, candies, and nondairy creamers. Lauric oils possess melting behavior similar to that of cocoa butter
