During the production of palm oil, the oil palm fruits are boiled in order to

During the production of palm oil, the oil palm fruits are boiled in order to ease the separation of mesocarp from the endocarp. The mesocarp is the fleshy part of the fruit which contains the oil that is used to produce palm oil, while the endocarp is the hard shell that surrounds the kernel. Boiling the fruits softens the mesocarp and makes it easier to separate from the endocarp. This process is often referred to as sterilization or cooking and also serves to reduce the microbial load on the fruit and prevent the oil from going rancid. However, boiling the fruits does not extract the raw oil from the epicarp or the kernel, which are separate processes in the production of palm oil.