Coconut Oil & Cooking

Bob Z · 02-09-2010 6:54pm #1

~Is it a good idea to use it as a cooking oil? Dos it taste nice? Is it good for you or bad for you?

EileenG · 02-09-2010 7:20pm

It's extremely good for you. Temple will tell you more of the benefits, but it's stable at higher temperatures than most oils, so it's better for cooking, and it has a lot of health benefits.

If you are an athlete, then coconut oil is a great addition to your diet, because it has Medium Chain Triglycerides, which provide quick energy the way carbs do, but without raising your insulin levels.

You can buy cheap coconut oil in Asian supermarkets which has no taste. Virgin coconut oil from health shops has a very faint coconut taste.

Bob Z · 02-09-2010 7:35pm

the stuff i got was ktc and according to the label 100 per cen coconut oil

It was E3.50 for 500 ml

cc87 · 02-09-2010 7:38pm

Whats the easiest place to buy it??

Cant think of any Asian supermarket around my area??

Bob Z · 03-09-2010 2:10am

EileenG wrote: »

It's extremely good for you. Temple will tell you more of the benefits, but it's stable at higher temperatures than most oils, so it's better for cooking, and it has a lot of health benefits.

If you are an athlete, then coconut oil is a great addition to your diet, because it has Medium Chain Triglycerides, which provide quick energy the way carbs do, but without raising your insulin levels.

You can buy cheap coconut oil in Asian supermarkets which has no taste. Virgin coconut oil from health shops has a very faint coconut taste.

and you can use it for other stuff like showering too?

rubadub · 03-09-2010 8:47am

cc87 wrote: »

Whats the easiest place to buy it??

Cant think of any Asian supermarket around my area??

Health food shops have it, usually virgin coconut oil at ridiculous prices. What area are you in? someone might know a place, there are 1 or 2 asian shops here who deliver.

Bob Z wrote: »

and you can use it for other stuff like showering too?

It can be used as a moisturiser, it has anti-bacterial properties so can help in some skin conditions.

Just found this shop online
http://bombaybazar.ie/index.php?cPath=83
Coconut Oil 1L Kalyani
Price : €3.49
Thats a very good price.

CO DUBLIN :
Free delivery on all purchases above 50 Euros and below 30 Kgs.
Purchases above 50 Euros, less than 100 Euros and above 30 Kgs, there will be a delivery charge of 6.99 Euros.

NATIONWIDE DELIVERY:
Free delivery on all purchases above 80 Euros and below 30 Kgs.
Purchases above 80 Euros, less than 160 Euros and above 30 Kgs, there will be a delivery charge of 10.50 Euros .

The applicable standard delivery charge is shown when you click check out. You will always be able to see all applicable charges before submitting your order.

metamorphosis · 03-09-2010 9:57am

Bob Z wrote: »

and you can use it for other stuff like showering too?

People on this forum have also said it works great on sunburn too - as rubadub said, it has good anti bacterial properties.

S.R.F.C. · 03-09-2010 10:15am

How much should you be paying for it in asian shops or health food shops?

rubadub · 03-09-2010 10:57am

S.R.F.C. wrote: »

How much should you be paying for it in asian shops or health food shops?

I got 1L for €6 in the indian shop in blackrock market in dublin. which I thought was good, the shop I listed was cheaper above. Somebody else recently posted a shop in dublin city which was cheap too.

€16 for a lb in H&B
http://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/pages/categories.asp?cid=182&searchterm=coconut&rdcnt=1

I think it is usually more expensive, and that one might not even be virgin oil as it doesn't state it.

LavaLamp · 03-09-2010 11:08am

someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this one, but I thought that you needed to get cold pressed coconut oil to get the full benefits of it. The stuff that doesn't smell of coconut is pretty much refined and therefore looses a lot of it's amazing properties.

That said, I use KTC coconut oil as a moisturiser and my skin is super silky smooth, however I use the expensive stuff for eating/cooking with.

EileenG · 03-09-2010 11:37am

JC Savage in Swords has some virgin coconut oil for around 5-6 euro. Can't remember exactly, but it's about half the usual price.

The Nourish health food shops have jars of it as well, which are reasonably priced.

LavaLamp · 03-09-2010 11:50am

EileenG wrote: »

JC Savage in Swords has some virgin coconut oil for around 5-6 euro. Can't remember exactly, but it's about half the usual price.

that's just reminded me, I saw some virgin coconut oil in Supervalu (in Ennistymon) for about €6 the other day, reasonable size jar too - was most surprised. In fact I really should go and buy some

Bob Z · 03-09-2010 11:54am

LavaLamp wrote: »

someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this one, but I thought that you needed to get cold pressed coconut oil to get the full benefits of it. The stuff that doesn't smell of coconut is pretty much refined and therefore looses a lot of it's amazing properties.

That said, I use KTC coconut oil as a moisturiser and my skin is super silky smooth, however I use the expensive stuff for eating/cooking with.

so you can't cook with the KTC coconut oil?

LavaLamp · 03-09-2010 12:00pm

You can, but I don't think you get as much benefit from it health wise as you would virgin coconut oil. That said, it is still the best oil to cook with, refined or not for all the reasons mentioned above.

ApeXaviour · 03-09-2010 12:10pm

If you're cooking I would have thought you want to use the cheaper refined stuff... the whole point is that it's pretty stable, won't oxidise or smoke. If there's other stuff in it then it's going to have a lower smoke temperature.

brianthebard · 03-09-2010 8:59pm

LavaLamp wrote: »

You can, but I don't think you get as much benefit from it health wise as you would virgin coconut oil. That said, it is still the best oil to cook with, refined or not for all the reasons mentioned above.

This discussion has happened on this board a number of times, and the meaning of what constitutes virgin CO is shaky at best. The KTC oil still tastes coconutty which seems to be the only real indicator of 'virginness' therefore it should have all the added benefits of this method of processing. However the important thing to note is the virgin label is a completely fabricated thing which has no strict guidelines or meanings and is really only cashing in on the way olive oil is produced.

Molberts · 04-09-2010 1:37pm

some great info on this site about coconut oil and its benefits - yes, its from a pet company, don't laugh I run a pet shop and thats how I found out about it - my dog was eating coconut oil before I was

http://www.cocotherapy.com/products_coconutoil.htm

Bob Z · 05-09-2010 3:49am

So should i use it for cooking or not?

metamorphosis · 05-09-2010 7:50am

Your question was answered in post #2

Yes.

Adelie · 06-09-2010 10:07am

Do I need to keep the jar of coconut oil in the fridge once I've opened it? I've been doing this, but it's a lot harder to scrape out now.

rubadub · 06-09-2010 10:17am

Adelie wrote: »

Do I need to keep the jar of coconut oil in the fridge once I've opened it? I've been doing this, but it's a lot harder to scrape out now.

No many keep it at room temp, it is quite a stable oil. Mine got a tiny bit of mould at room temp but I think I contaminated it with food, i.e. stirring food in a pan and taking out more oil with it.

Being hard/cold has advantages, I make pancakes with a waffle iron sometimes, this needs lots of oil in the batter to stop it sticking. I scrape it with a strong fork and the tiny shards mix in good & evenly with the batter so you do not have lumps of oil in it.

My oil came in a narrow neck bottle, I heated it by putting it in hot water and then poured it into old sauce jars with wider necks.

Coconut Oil & Cooking

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