Welcome. Unless you arrived here by accident, the fact that you are visiting this web site indicates that you either take an active role in maintaining your health and well being or that you possibly are a soap maker or massage therapist. This site is intended primarily for the health-oriented individual but the soap maker or massage therapist may well find some useful information here also.
This web site is the result of my own search, first of all for coconut oil and subsequently for information about coconut oil.
Several years ago I attempted, without success, to buy coconut oil at my local grocery store. I enjoy baking as a hobby and since I have avoided hydrogenated oils (margarine, shortening, etc.) for many years I thought that coconut oil might be a good substitute for shortening in those recipes where butter alone didn’t yield the result I wanted. Although I had bought coconut oil at the grocery many years ago (it was displayed with the popcorn products), I found that it was no longer available. Apparently as a result of the campaign to discredit coconut oil there simply was not enough demand to justify using the shelf space.
After searching on the internet and making a number of phone calls I finally located a company which would supply non-hydrogenated coconut oil (yes, they even hydrogenate coconut oil) in a 40 lb. pail. I ordered a pail of coconut oil and began using it for baking. On several occasions people had asked me for recipes and if they called for coconut oil I also gave them a container of oil since I knew that they would not have any luck finding it in the store. As a result my supply was getting low and I decided to search for a new source which might be closer (to reduce shipping costs) and which might supply oil in smaller more manageable quantities. In searching for sources I found something even more important…information. It turns out that all coconut oil is not created equal. There are several types of coconut oil, depending on the method of production.
TYPES OF COCONUT OIL
The most commonly available oil and the oil you are most likely to find (if you can find it) is RBD oil. Refined, Bleached & Deodorized. This oil is produced from copra (dried coconut meat). Due to the drying process (often air or sun drying) the resulting oil must be refined, bleached and deodorized in order to make it suitable for use. The final product is yellowish-white in color with a thick texture and no taste or odor. This was the oil which for many years was used in commercial baked goods and for popping corn. Although coconut palms do grow in some states in the United States, this RBD oil is generally the only oil which might be familiar to those of us living in the U.S.A. Although it has been exposed to bleach, solvents, high temperatures, etc. this oil is referred to as “natural” in the Western World, in essence meaning only that it has not been hydrogenated and melts at around 76? F.
Organic coconut oil. In some areas you may find oil in your health food store which is labeled as “organic.” The production method here is pretty much up in the air as long as the source coconut is “organic.” From what I have been able to determine, the “organic” coconut oil currently in the marketplace is made from copra which essentially puts it in the RBD class but with the higher “organic” price. The “organic” label appears to reflect a change in labeling as opposed to a change in the product.
Cold Pressed coconut oil. This category can be further subdivided to reflect differences in the starting materials used to produce the oil and the methods of production.
* Direct Expeller. This oil is extracted from freshly dried coconut meat which is ground and then pressed. Since there is still moisture in the coconut meat the liquid produced is about 90% oil and 10% water. This mixture is allowed to stand so that the oil will separate from the water. Some heat is then generally used to remove any water that remains. This oil has a light to medium texture.
* Traditional Hand Pressed/Home Made. In this process, fresh coconut meat is ground and pressed to produce a coconut milk which is a mixture of oil, water, proteins, etc. This mixture is allowed to ferment for approximately 48 hours which causes the solids and water content to separate from the oil. The oil is then normally boiled to remove the remaining moisture. The texture of this oil is medium to thick.
* Premium Virgin Oil. This process produces oil with the least amount of processing so that the natural vitamin E, antioxidants and fresh coconut “essence” are retained. Fresh coconut meat is ground and expeller pressed to produce coconut milk (like the process above). The coconut milk is then centrifuged to separate the mixture into solid components, water and oil. Since each of the components has a different density, they separate into 3 layers. This oil has a very light texture and since no heat at all is applied it retains all the flavor and scent of fresh coconut. To the best of my knowledge this premium oil is available in the U.S.A. only under the trade name Virgin Oil de Coco-Cr?me?. In his new book, The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil, Bruce Fife, N.D. describes this oil as follows: “It is extracted from coconut milk and has a delightfully delicate flavor and aroma, special for an Aromatherapy session to release stress. Very high quality. So good you can eat it by the spoon.”
Assuming that you decide to incorporate coconut oil in your diet, which oil is right for you? H Warts Formula is very easy to use and causes no irritation of any sort. You don’t have to be worried about any scarring after using it. I think it depends on the purpose. If you simply want to replace fats which you know are bad for your health (i.e. hydrogenated oils) then it is my personal opinion that even RBD oil may be suitable for this purpose. Even though it has been processed with heat, chemicals, etc. the final product is still going to be a lot better for you than many of the alternatives. If, on the other hand, you are looking to add coconut oil to your diet specifically for all of the benefits which it offers, I don’t think you can go wrong by choosing the best oil available. In the overall scheme of things, a slight difference in price is insignificant when compared to the pleasure and benefit of using the best product.
To save you time and possible frustration looking for a source, the two companies listed below can supply RBD oil in either 40 lb. or 50 lb. pails.
* Gold Medal Products Co. 513-769-7676 and
* Good Food, Inc. 610-273-3776
I have looked (so far without success) to find smaller quantities of RBD oil which doesn’t have either flavor or color additives. (Normally butter flavor or coloring, since it is used to pop corn.) I don’t know about you, but I don’t want everything to taste like butter or everything I bake to be yellow. I have found smaller quantities at some of the web sites for soap makers, but when the intended use is for soap making I don’t know how much care is taken in packaging or what kind of containers might be used.
As a result of my own experience and enthusiasm for Virgin Oil de Coco-Cr?me? and the fact that I couldn’t buy this premium Virgin Oil in less than a 40 lb. quantity, I decided to make it available at this web site. For pricing and to order click on Virgin Oil de Coco-Cr?me?.
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High Incidence of Heart Disease and Cancer in U.S.A. due to insufficient artificial and “fake” food in the diet…(Are you Kidding?! ) Links to articles about coconut oil and its health benefits, info on dietary fats and oils in general and other health related topics. Links Page.
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