Sacha inchi oil

The Inca nut

Sacha Inchi oil is extracted from the Inca nut, also called peanut and mountain peanut. The Inca nut belongs to the spurge family and is a perennial climbing plant with hairy leaves. It grows on a grass-green, herbaceous climbing plant that quickly reaches a height of several meters. The fruits have a diameter of 3 to 5 cm, are star-shaped and initially grass-green. When they reach maturity, the colour changes from grass green to dark brown. Then the fruit pops open and the star-shaped, star-anise-like, hard-shelled nut appears. The nut contains four to six seed capsules, each containing one seed. After the nuts have been harvested by hand and dried in the sun, the seed capsules burst open and the flat round nut kernel with a dark brown shell and pure white interior falls out.

The plant thrives best at temperatures between 10°C and 36°C. The plant also needs enough water, which is why it grows mainly near rivers. Under good conditions, the seed germinates two weeks after sowing. Three to five months later the plant starts to flower.