HOW TO MAKE COCONUT OIL
Although you can buy virgin coconut oil from health shops and the internet you may wish to try and make your own.
This is a relatively simple process but don’t expect to get huge amount of oil from your coconuts. It is also a satisfying experience to go through the processes and end up with your own oil.
A mature coconut
The first thing to do is to get some mature coconuts. These are the ones that are brown on the outside and contain a thick layer of hard white flesh on the inside. It is the flesh that you need and younger less mature coconuts won’t have as much flesh inside them. Once you have the coconuts drain off the coconut water. You can push a hole through the softer eye looking patches on the one end of the coconut.
Soft eye like areas of a coconut
Make 2 holes and drain of the water inside the coconut. You can keep this as a refreshing drink to be used on its own or to dilute fruit juices. Wrap the drained coconut in a towel or clean piece of cloth and bash with a hammer or something heavy to smash it open. In mature coconuts the flesh is hard and stuck to the inside of the shell of the nut. Use a knife to push under the coconut flesh and prize it away from the shell. You may find this easier to do if you score the flesh with a sharp knife down to the shell first and then try to remove smaller chunks of the flesh with the knife.
Remove the white flesh from the inside of the coconut
Once you have the flesh separated from the hard shell you need to shred it into smaller bits. To do this you can use a hand grater, if you don’t mind some hard work. Alternatively you can put the large chunks of flesh into a blender or food processor. Use the pulse feature of the blender to get it started. If the blender blades won’t work on the flesh you should add a little water until the blades pull in the flesh and start to rip it up. Use the blend or chop feature of those blenders with program buttons. Once the coconut is nice and shredded pour it into a large bowl. Add some water, if it appears to be too dry. You need water for the oil to pass into and form the coconut milk. In order to get the oil to come out of the shredded coconut put your hands into the bowl and grab handfuls of the coconut and squeeze it. This will then help to press the oil out of the coconut flesh. Continue to do this until the water around the coconut has gone very milky.
Next you need to separate the milk from the sold coconut pieces and you should use a fine sieve or a piece of fine muslin cloth. With your hand squeeze the milk out of the coconut pieces and allow it to collect into a separate bowl. You can put the shredded coconut back into water again and try to extract some more of the oil by repeating the process in the last paragraph. Put the coconut milk that you have made into the refrigerator and leave it over night. The pure coconut oil will collect on the surface of the water and you can then skim it off the water using a spoon the next morning. While the coconut oil is cold and solid you can put it into a fine sieve so that the excess water drains off. You should ideally leave it to do this in the refrigerator so that the oil remains solid. Once you have the oil on its own transfer it to a glass jar with a lid and store it away from sunlight in a nice cool place. Some people use jars made out of dark glass to help prevent the sun from affecting it.
The oil should keep as long as the shop bought stuff but I dare say that you will have used the coconut oil that you have made within a few days! You can use it for cooking or for any of the other purposes.
This is a relatively simple process but don’t expect to get huge amount of oil from your coconuts. It is also a satisfying experience to go through the processes and end up with your own oil.
A mature coconut
The first thing to do is to get some mature coconuts. These are the ones that are brown on the outside and contain a thick layer of hard white flesh on the inside. It is the flesh that you need and younger less mature coconuts won’t have as much flesh inside them. Once you have the coconuts drain off the coconut water. You can push a hole through the softer eye looking patches on the one end of the coconut.
Soft eye like areas of a coconut
Make 2 holes and drain of the water inside the coconut. You can keep this as a refreshing drink to be used on its own or to dilute fruit juices. Wrap the drained coconut in a towel or clean piece of cloth and bash with a hammer or something heavy to smash it open. In mature coconuts the flesh is hard and stuck to the inside of the shell of the nut. Use a knife to push under the coconut flesh and prize it away from the shell. You may find this easier to do if you score the flesh with a sharp knife down to the shell first and then try to remove smaller chunks of the flesh with the knife.
Remove the white flesh from the inside of the coconut
Once you have the flesh separated from the hard shell you need to shred it into smaller bits. To do this you can use a hand grater, if you don’t mind some hard work. Alternatively you can put the large chunks of flesh into a blender or food processor. Use the pulse feature of the blender to get it started. If the blender blades won’t work on the flesh you should add a little water until the blades pull in the flesh and start to rip it up. Use the blend or chop feature of those blenders with program buttons. Once the coconut is nice and shredded pour it into a large bowl. Add some water, if it appears to be too dry. You need water for the oil to pass into and form the coconut milk. In order to get the oil to come out of the shredded coconut put your hands into the bowl and grab handfuls of the coconut and squeeze it. This will then help to press the oil out of the coconut flesh. Continue to do this until the water around the coconut has gone very milky.
Next you need to separate the milk from the sold coconut pieces and you should use a fine sieve or a piece of fine muslin cloth. With your hand squeeze the milk out of the coconut pieces and allow it to collect into a separate bowl. You can put the shredded coconut back into water again and try to extract some more of the oil by repeating the process in the last paragraph. Put the coconut milk that you have made into the refrigerator and leave it over night. The pure coconut oil will collect on the surface of the water and you can then skim it off the water using a spoon the next morning. While the coconut oil is cold and solid you can put it into a fine sieve so that the excess water drains off. You should ideally leave it to do this in the refrigerator so that the oil remains solid. Once you have the oil on its own transfer it to a glass jar with a lid and store it away from sunlight in a nice cool place. Some people use jars made out of dark glass to help prevent the sun from affecting it.
The oil should keep as long as the shop bought stuff but I dare say that you will have used the coconut oil that you have made within a few days! You can use it for cooking or for any of the other purposes.
( SOURCE; 107 EVERY DAY USES OF COCONUT OIL)
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