The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Make Your Own Coconut Oil
Posted by Colleen (Brooklyn, NY) on 01/07/2007
★★★★★
To make coconut oil, after the milk has been squeezed out from the freshly grated coconut to which water is added to obtain milk, you let it set over night, the fat /cream will rise to the top, this is skimmed off leaving the water residue. The fat is placed in to a heavy duty pot onto a lighted stove where the remaining water evaporates and the oil deposits remain along with the curds. As soon as the curds start to get to a brownish colour your oil is done if not care full at this stage it will start to burn. Be careful this is extremely hot. Set aside to cool and strain throwing away the crisp curds. It won't be rancid either. Good luck.
Make Your Own Coconut Oil
Posted by Patricia (Kajang, Selangor DE, Malaysia) on 01/06/2007
★★★★★
I take VCO for my candidas, eczema, puffiness. Actually when i consume them, i felt better. But vco at my place, local supplier has phased out the order. and to buy on line, they are so expensive. so following some comments here, i'm trying to do my own at home. but leaving the coconut milk aside till the next day for the separation between oil and water, it turned sour - rancid.. what should i do? thank you.
Make Your Own Coconut Oil
Posted by Ivan (Panajachel, Guatemala) on 07/22/2006
★★★★★
Make your own! Buy a whole coconut (the older ones have more oil), break the nut, take the copra (white part) and grate it, pour a quart of boiling water on it and knead it, squeeze all the now milky white liquid out and let it sit over night and in the morning the oil will have risen to the top. Easy, cheap, needs no special equipment, natural as can be with all the nutrients still in it. Enjoy!
Make Your Own Coconut Oil
Posted by SAI ENG (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) on 10/01/2007
★★★★★
I read with concern how some readers make virgin coconut oil (VCO). It should not be subject to heat treatment otherwise all its nutritional benefits will be lost. When pressing out the cococnut milk from the kernel, try to use cold press method if possible. Do not subject the coconut milk to heat treatment. Let stand in a clean room for 36 hrs at consistent temperature of about 38-40 deg Celcius. The santan will separate into oil, residue (milk) and water. filter out the oil. Filter again and let stand for another 8 hours. Filter for the third time and let stand again for another 8 hrs.This way u'll get a clear colorless VCO. I visited a cottage industry VCO maker and this was how he explained the process of making VCO.
Make Your Own Coconut Oil
Posted by Mellybag (Austin, Texas. USA) on 11/03/2007
★★★★★
Heating coconut milk to extract oil will not cause loss of nutrients except for vitamin e. This has been widely discussed in other vco forums/fora. Heat should be no more than 80F. So it would take you a real lllooonnng time to get your oil, however, it would be a good oil, no smell, no coconutty taste, clear as water and lasts very very long. I tested this method and my oil lasted 5 years. You have to keep it in a cool dark place and use glass bottle. Melly.
Cheap Coconut Oil Sources
Posted by Noel (Georgetown, Texas) on 07/09/2007
★★★★★
If you're on a budget (aren't we all) I have found a TWO POUND tub of Coconut Oil at WAL-MART for $2.82. The brand is LouAnn and it is in the aisle with baking supplies and oils. No need to buy that expensive stuff at the health food store.
Cheap Coconut Oil Sources
Posted by Kimberly (New Braunfels, TX) on 11/25/2007
★★★★★
I found great source online for organic VCO at half price of my local health food store and they have free shipping. I know we aren't supposed to plug specific brands but you can go to the site and see for yourself. If you want to cook with VCO (my boyfriend still frys anything he can get in his mouth!) it can get expensive. The site is
www.ecoviva.com. If the site name gets blocked out, please feel free to email me and I'll direct you to it. They are a small family-owned business in Utah that I found through a search engine, and no, I have no affiliation with them, other than to recommend a business out there that's offering really good value.
General Feedback
Posted by Indigo (Atlanta, GA) on 12/10/2007
★☆☆☆☆
I see some people have had some issues with coconut oil not working for them. For me coconut oil has been a God send! However its not some magic elixer that is going to fix every ailment for everybody. Apple cider vinegar has done wonders for a lot of people, but I have my own personal uses for it b/c it does not do for me ALL the things some people claim it does. For instance, I know that my skin will go crazy if I'm not on birth control pills. And I also know a little bit of coconut oil (and I do mean a LITTLE bit) is an excellent moisturizer for those with problem skin. Although Virgin coconut oil is WONDERFUL (I put it on just about anything I eat at home) its not a cure all. If you have something off balance in your body,all the coconut oil in the world may not be able to help you. Go to the doctor for pete's sake! VCO is great for prevention, but once the damage is done, you're better off seeking professional help. Oh and make sure you are taking Extra Virgin Coconut oil.And not just coconut oil. the right one solidifies 77 degrees...I just put it on hot food to melt it.
Oil Pulling
Posted by Valerie Wright (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 09/17/2007
★★★★★
I was advised to use CERTIFIED Organic Virgin Coconut Oil for eating - and CERTIFIED Organic (not virgin) for cooking. Of course, the later is less expensive. I find I can take it by the spoonful, though I will also put it on my hot buckwheat cereal. This product, together with Oil Pulling has improved my health markedly. Am thrilled.
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Posted by Allison (New York, NY) on 06/04/2007
I just wanted to clear something up about Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. There is no such thing as "Extra Virgin" there is only "Virgin." This term has just been picked up from olive oil and used by marketers to market their product and try to convince people that their product is better than Virgin Coconut Oil. This is not true. So don't be fooled when a company says that it is "Extra Virgin Coconut Oil" it is still just Virgin Coconut oil.
Fat Stripper
Posted by Julie (Newcastle, NSW Australia) on 10/06/2007
★★★★★
I have been using coconut oil for some time now, taking it orally and cooking with it. Has anyone noticed how using coconut oil in a well used baking pan for the first time, strips the pan clean of old baked on oil residue. So much so that after baking with it, the pan will rust if you do not keep oiling it. Does this support the claim that coconut oil will cleanse your clogged arteries? Can anyone tell me how much oil you can make from 1 coconut please
Refined Vs. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Posted by Cary (Phoenix, Arizona) on 11/07/2007
★★★★★
Most commercial grade coconut oils are made from copra. Copra is basically the dried kernel (meat) of the coconut. It can be made by: smoke drying, sun drying, or kiln drying , or derivatives or a combination of these three. If standard copra is used as a starting material, the unrefined coconut oil extracted from copra is not suitable for consumption and must be purified, that is refined. This is because the way most copra is dried is not sanitary. The standard end product made from copra is RBD coconut oil. RBD stands for refined, bleached, and deodorized. High heat is used to deodorize the oil, and the oil is typically filtered through (bleaching) clays to remove impurities. Sodium hydroxide is generally used to remove free fatty acids and prolong shelf life. This is the most common way to mass-produce coconut oil. The older way of producing refined coconut oil was through physical/mechanical refining (see Tropical Traditions Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil.). More modern methods also use chemical solvents to extract all the oil from the copra for higher yields.
RBD oil is also sometimes hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. This happens mostly in tropical climates, since the natural melting point of coconut oil is about 76 degrees F, and already naturally a solid in most colder climates. Since coconut oil is mostly saturated, there is little unsaturated oil left to hydrogenate. Hydrogenated oils contain trans fatty acids.
Virgin Coconut Oil
Virgin Coconut Oil can only be achieved by using fresh coconut meat or what is called non-copra. Chemicals and high heating are not used in further refining, since the natural, pure coconut oil is very stable with a shelf life of several years. There are currently two main processes of manufacturing Virgin Coconut Oil:
1. Quick drying of fresh coconut meat which is then used to press out the oil. Using this method, the coconut meat is quick dried, and the oil is then pressed out via mechanical means. (see our Green Label Virgin Coconut Oil)
2. Wet-milling. With this method the oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat without drying first. "Coconut milk" is expressed first by pressing. The oil is then further separated from the water. Methods which can be used to separate the oil from the water include boiling, fermentation, refrigeration, enzymes and mechanical centrifuge. (see our Traditional Virgin Coconut Oil)
If you would like so see how they process the extra virgin oil, then go to youtube and you'll find it under.
The Cocovida virgin coconut oil production process...Take 11
Refined Vs. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Posted by Stacey King (Gold Coast, Australia) on 11/19/2007
★★★★★
After reading a lot of the different comments here I think it is really important for people to understand the difference between virgin, extra virgin and the general term of coconut oil and why they give such different results.
WHAT IS COPRA OR COCONUT OIL?
My husband is a Banaban islander from Rabi Island, Fiji and was not only raised on coconut and coconut oil as part of daily life but also cut copra to make a living on his small impoverished island. Copra or dried coconut flesh is what is made into basic COCONUT OIL. It is a completely different form of oil compared to Virgin or Extra Virgin Coconut Oil now on the market.
When he cuts copra he first gathers coconuts that have fallen on the ground, cuts the nut in half and removes the white coconut meat. The coconut meat is then usually dried on a rack over a fire (they call them copra smokers) which helps to dry out the coconut meat and it turns a grey colour and has a rancid smell. The biggest and most abundant amount of wild coconuts are found in remote villages scattered across the Pacific and Asia. Sometime it can take up to 3-4 months before the villagers can get their bags of smoked copra to the big copra mills in town. The mills are usually situated 100's of miles away from these villagers. The copra mills resemble a smaller version of a sugar crushing mill and processing of the copra is similar to that found in the sugar mills. The copra is pressed and because the coconut is very smoky or rancid they use chemicals to bleach and clean the oil. This happens in all the basic edible food oils today in the market place. This is also the reason why this style of COCONUT OIL (Copra) processing became known in the old days as poor man's oil or dirty oil.
But for people in the village they only used freshly processed coconut oil and the premium or special oils that their grandmother's made from freshly squeezed coconuts were put aside and bottled for the special ceremonies in the village. Today this special oil is known as Extra or Virgin Coconut Oil and any comparisons to the processing of olive oil should not be used. The term for Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in the Coconut oil industry today means that this form of coconut oil processing is the most unrefined and most natural form and no artificial filtering or expeller pressing (centrifuge spinning -also known as oil polishing) is used. The oil remains in its most natural form and retains a rich smell and sweet taste of coconut.
Today because of the high demand for Virgin Coconut Oil many unscrupulous manufacturers are getting cheap copra oils and running them through centrifuge spinning machines to clean up the oils and also state they are ORGANIC. While the centrifuges remove the smell and all flavour from the oils the Copra COCONUT OIL is a much thicker oil that will NOT quickly absorb into the skin and does contain TRANS FAT. Accept for a higher level of lauric acid it is very similar to all other trans fat food oils on the market due to the processing. If you put this type of oil on your skin it is just that OIL and will clog the pores of your skin.
WHAT IS EXTRA VIRGIN OR VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
Good quality Extra Virgin or Virgin Coconut Oil should taste and smell like coconut. It should be a very fine oil and will quickly melt in the palm of your hand with body heat. If it does not solidify or melt quickly you know it is a much thicker and inferior oil. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil should be in a natural form and gravity or natural filtering of the oil is used. This type of Virgin Coconut Oil will still retain a level of fine coconut particles and usually a very high level of lauric acid. This type or premium VCO should not contain any microbe activity or foreign matter. If wild forest coconuts are used and are very mature trees they retain a very high lauric acid level and the oil can retain a slight golden colour.
While some of the Virgin Coconut Oils currently on the market are crystal clear in appearance they usually are made from the soft immature coconut flesh before the nut hardens. This type of coconut processing usually makes it easy to remove the coconut flesh and extract the oil with fermentation or boiling off the liquid. Because the coconut is not as mature it usually has lower lauric acid levels and the smell and flavour of the oil is not as strong.
It must be remembered that all coconuts when opened will quickly ferment and unless the moisture is removed properly during processing the oil will sour. Good quality Virgin Coconut Oils should have a shelf life of at lease 2 years without any deteriorate of the oil at all. When cooking with Virgin Coconut Oil the oil will fry at very high temperatures. Good quality Virgin Coconut Oil can be mixed in both hot and cold drinks.
To reap the great benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil make sure you know the difference between VIRGIN COCONUT OIL and Copra (basic COCONUT OIL) found in today's market place and why they should not be confused.
Warnings
Posted by Velvet (Mountain Home, Arkansas) on 12/30/2007
★☆☆☆☆WARNING!
Coconut Oil. I have been using CO for a year now and I have no outstanding reports to make on it, but today I tried the CO bath. Now I am disabled and I have a handicap hand rail and I use the non skid mat in my tub and I never gave it a thought that when I went to get out I could not. I used my wash cloth and a towel for more traction but I was not strong enough to overcome the oily tub and mat. I struggled for a long while and it took awhile for me to get turned over on my side so I could use my painful knees, but I finally made it up and out. This is just to let others who are disabled in their legs, knees, etc be careful and know that you are going to be very slippery. I am laughing now, but it wasn't funny at the time. For the record I have used CO on my face for a year now and I cook everything in CO and I take it 1 tsp at a time in my protein drinks. I do not do the TB amount. so far I have no bad re-actions. I just hope it is doing something good inside.
Wounds
Posted by Sandy (Bangalore, India) on 03/05/2008
★★★★★
For overnight miraculous healing of wounds, apply coconut oil to it. This will also ensure that no scar is left behind.
