It comes from West and central Africa, where archaeologists have found 3,000-year-old palm nuts buried in streambeds deep in the forest. Throughout the 1800s, British traders imported African palm ...

Unripe or ripe nuts are shelled, boiled and sun-dried, then crushed with lime and catechu, a red, astringent extract made from boiled pieces of areca palm wood. The nuts can be bought and eaten in ...