Coconut Oil - How do I use it?!

[AliRo]

So, I finally found myself some coconut oil which I've been dying to get for a while now.  I have a question though.  Because it's hard (cold pressed), how do I use it?  Do I just scoop it out hard, or do I have to heat the whole bottle to liquify it each time I want to use it?

[gertbysea]

Cold pressed is just the process from which the coconut oil is extracted from the coconut flesh. The same as with olive oil. If it is in a bottle then it is liquid.


I have no idea how to use it? Why did you buy it?  Was it expensive?

I bet Quirky Jo's web site would have something on it about how to use it or just google it.
Gert

[meganjane]

Use it to make Ice Magic Topping.

Here's a post by andisenji:

   
Coconut oil
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2009, 03:58:59 AM »

I've been using coconut oil for both baking and cooking for several years.  I substitute it for butter in many quick breads as I often cook for friends who are vegan and have found that it works better than the oils I had been using prior to the availability of coconut oil.

I have never bothered to refrigerate it and it remains solid except during the hottest part of the summer when I forget to turn the A/C on in the pantry and the temp gets over 100° F.  (37.7 C.).

I have a recipe book somewhere in my office, dedicated to using coconut oil and coconut milk, which I purchased at a local health food store that caters to vegans.   It has some interesting suggestions, including one for twice-baked potatoes that I have prepared many times. 
It also has a recipe for mayonnaise made with coconut oil and I also made garlic mayonnaise using a similar formula (silken(very soft) tofu, liquid soy lecithen, mustard, garlic and the coconut oil.)

http://www.coconut-connections.com/recipes.htm  is the cookbook I have -  I paid $27.95 for it.

[gertbysea]

MJ does it give the food a slight coconut flavour  or is it tasteless after processing?


Funny andiesenji said she used it for her vegan friends but my son is a vegan and his family use cows milk, cream and my daughter in law makes butter then ghee to use.  They use cows milk to make paneer, yogurt and  cheese as well as using goats milk for cheese Now I am wondering what a true vegan is?

Gert

[faffa_70]

I thought a vegan was no animal products at all ... I could well be wrong lol

[Rara1]

MJ does it give the food a slight coconut flavour  or is it tasteless after processing?


Funny andiesenji said she used it for her vegan friends but my son is a vegan and his family use cows milk, cream and my daughter in law makes butter then ghee to use.  They use cows milk to make paneer, yogurt and  cheese as well as using goats milk for cheese Now I am wondering what a true vegan is?

Gert

I am a lacto ovo vegetarian. I eat eggs and dairy products.
A vegan does not eat ANY animal products including honey.
My friend who is a vegan  does not eat some lollies as they contain gelatin.

Your family members are lacto vegetarians.

As for coconut oil I scoop it out and melt it in the frypan or tm.

[gertbysea]

Very interesting rara. My son and family are Hare krishnas so perhaps more of a religious thing. I once asked them why they ate the product of cows but not the product of chickens. It was explained to me that the product of a chicken was a potential chicken. My reply was not unless it was fertilised. In any case my DIL is very clever of making a substitution where necessary. Geletin is a no no but agar agar is not.  Animal rennet is a no no.

I know she reads all the labels and will make a phone call to the company for explainations if not sure but it has always been her way of life.

So there are vegans and vegans I guess.

Gert

[meganjane]

Gert, the coconut oil doesn't taste 'coconutty'. The one I buy, from Aussie Soap Supplies is Virgin Coconut Oil.

I'm an omnivore. I eat anything, but do draw the line at innards.

[mcmich]

Very interesting rara. My son and family are Hare krishnas so perhaps more of a religious thing. I once asked them why they ate the product of cows but not the product of chickens. It was explained to me that the product of a chicken was a potential chicken. My reply was not unless it was fertilised. In any case my DIL is very clever of making a substitution where necessary. Geletin is a no no but agar agar is not.  Animal rennet is a no no.

I know she reads all the labels and will make a phone call to the company for explainations if not sure but it has always been her way of life.

So there are vegans and vegans I guess.

Gert

Absolutely. I was raised in a vegetarian household for reasons of my parents faith, which I no longer adhere to. I do have problems handling meat, can't get my head around pork and am blessed with a DH that will eat legumes and pulses.

[gertbysea]

Gert, the coconut oil doesn't taste 'coconutty'. The one I buy, from Aussie Soap Supplies is Virgin Coconut Oil.

I'm an omnivore. I eat anything, but do draw the line at innards.

What no chicken livers?

Gert

[AliRo]

I guess I'm thinking about if I substitute it for say, macadamia oil, in a cake recipe or whatnot.  Because it's solid I can't just pour it out of the bottle, so wasn't sure whether I should just scoop the solid oil out or whether I should liquify it and then pour.

As for the vegan thing, sometimes it's just easier to say a certain label to people than to have to explain all the ins and outs of what you eat and what you don't eat and why.  Most people understand vegan and vegetarian, but not all the lacto ovo etc etc.

For example, 99% of my diet is vegetarian, however sometimes when I'm out and there's no good vego choice, I'll have fish or chicken.  But I tell people I'm vegetarian because it's just easier that way, otherwise it turns into an essay!

[Yummiemummie]

I'm vegan, we are a vegan family!

Depends which aspect you want to use your coconut oil for? I use it several times through the day! As a wrinkle prevention cream, make up remover, nappy cream to prevent fungal rash, hubby uses it on his hands after he has been digging at work, lip gloss for the young 2, great hair treatment for my eldests wild corse hair http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

It has weightloss benefits and can balance out thyroid issues.

Cooking wise I use it instead of olive oil on a fry pan, yummy as a 1:1 in cakes or when you require butter. You can place the jar in a saucepan of hot water to soften then measure out or melt it in your TMX. Makes yummy raw chocolate or dipping chocolate.

 It's nothing like copha which is hydrolyzed, If you get cold pressed virgin coconut oil.

Vegans don't consume any animals or by products.

[achookwoman]

Coconut oil goes solid in cold temps.  If you want to use it and can't get it out of the bottle,  just stand it in hot water until it becomes liquid.

I use it in all types of cooling where you might use butter or oil.  You can replace all or some of the fat componant. 
I find It tastes slightly coconuty.  I have posted several recipes using both coconut oil and coconut flour. 

[ElleG]

AliRo,I  have a jar of coconut oil in my kitchen and another one in the bathroom.

In summer the oil is liquid in the heat. It is solid now. Depending on what I am using it for I sometimes just scoop out and use without melting. Works no problems. The current jar I have I can taste a slight coconut taste.

 I smell like a coconut for a few minutes after using it in the bathroom I use it on my face and as an all over moisturizer after my shower. Rub it on before drying off. It hasn't hurt the towels. Also after years of trying to cure a fungal rash/mark on two toenails, it was cured after a few weeks of rubbing coconut oil into my nails.

So if you don't like it in the kitchen, take it to the bathroom. 

[mcmich]

Very interesting Elle.