Coconut Oil

Cooking with coconut oil is a delicious and versatile choice! Unrefined (Virgin) coconut oil adds a subtle tropical flavor and can help create moist, tender baked goods.

Tips and Ideas for Cooking with Coconut Oil

Choose the Right Type

Unrefined (Virgin) Coconut Oil has a coconut flavor and aroma, great for recipes where you want a coconut taste. Extracted from fresh coconut meat using minimal processing, such as cold pressing or raw methods.

Appearance: Usually cloudy or opaque and has a natural, whitish color.
Flavor & Aroma: Rich, coconutty flavor and aroma.
Uses: Preferred for raw consumption, flavoring, and health benefits.
Nutritional Content: Retains more antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients.

Refined Coconut Oil has a neutral in flavor, suitable if you prefer a more neutral taste. Made from dried coconut meat (copra) that undergoes bleaching, deodorizing, and filtering.

Processing: Made from dried coconut meat (copra) that undergoes bleaching, deodorizing, and filtering.
Appearance: Usually clear and light in color.
Flavor & Aroma: Mild or neutral taste and scent.
Uses: Suitable for high-heat cooking, baking, and commercial food production.
Nutritional Content: Slightly lower in antioxidants and nutrients due to processing.

Substitution Tips

Replace butter, margarine, shortening or vegetable oil with coconut oil at a 1:1 ratio.
For baked goods, melt the coconut oil before measuring if the recipe calls for melted fat; let cool before using.

Texture and Consistency

Coconut oil solidifies below 76 degrees F (24 degrees C), so keep it at room temperature or slightly warmer when measuring for softer texture.
When baking, melted coconut oil behaves similarly to melted butter or other oils.

Uses for Cooking

Fried Foods: Eggs, hash browns and more.
Cookies: Chocolate chip, oatmeal, or coconut cookies/
Cakes: Coconut, pineapple or banana cake.
Bread and Muffins: Banana, blueberry, pineapple, or zucchini muffins
Pancakes and Waffles: Adds flavor and moisture.
Brownies: For a rich, moist texture with coconut flavor.
Snacks: Popcorn, snack cakes

Tips for Best Results

Our best tip is to keep both unrefined and refined on hand.
Use melted coconut oil in recipes that call for liquid fat.
Coconut oil will sometimes seize up when combining with cold products such as eggs, so let all your ingredients come to room temperature before adding coconut oil.
For recipes requiring creaming (like cakes), soften the coconut oil to room temperature and beat it with sugar.
Be mindful of the coconut flavor (refined) if you prefer a more neutral taste.