How to Make Virgin Coconut Oil With Milyn and Peter Christopher

It's too bad we can't post a smell on the internet.  So much easier to post a picture or a few sentences of text... Because, it's hard to tell whether I would consider it a bad smell.  How long did it sit?  If just 1-3 days probably it is ok.  If you had it sitting for 1-3 weeks, then maybe it's nasty by now.  Also, usually when the oil separates properly, then you should definitely separate it out before making any judgment.  Take the separated oil after you've removed all the top and bottom scums, and after all those top and bottom scums are out of your memory, then maybe the oil itself will not seem bad at all.  The only time I felt I had a bad batch, there wasn't much separation at all, so I think when there is separation of the oil within a few days, it's probably good oil.

After removing the oil from the top, what you have left is a semi-fermented lowfat coconut curd, and below that, coconut whey. I wouldn't hesitate to give it to pigs (or maybe eat it if I was very starving) but it ranges from slightly nasty to moderately nasty and I wouldn't recommend it. It's not coconut milk anymore.

One time I tried to make it without straining it.  In my case it turned out to be a disaster and I was never able to separate that batch properly.  But you can strain it now and either use it for coconut cream, or continue waiting.  Maybe you'll be lucky and it will separate.   Depending on the size and oil content and your skills, you might need 10 or 100 to make that amount. 

Of course we are honored that you can find some inspiration from our coconut oil page, not annoyed at all.  Remember, there are as many ways to make coconut oil as there are people who make it - so you'll have to experiment to find the way that works for you.  Many people boil the milk to get oil, but I prefer to ferment it.  In Egypt I assume you can get fresh coconuts, so you should be able to use real coconuts, right?  Also remember that it takes a lot of coconuts to make coconut oil!  It depends on the kind of coconut, but in general one tablespoon per medium coconut is a reasonable estimate.

Your temperature is F or C?  Where are you?  Can you get real coconuts?  I recommend if possible you should use real coconuts - at least one real coconut for sure, just to get the yeast.

Also, why are you using hot water to mix?  You may be killing the yeast. 

Finally, I don't know how your coconut meat was dried.  If it already had anything extracted from it before drying, it won't work.

Remember the saying attributed to Edison: Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.  So keep trying again and again, until you find a way to make it that works for you in your climate with your available ingredients.  Let us know how it goes and what tricks you develop.

I'll assume that you used coconut milk, not coconut water.  I'll also assume that you kept the coconut milk at room temperature for the 24-48 hours, right?  

Probably what you see is not oil, but another byproduct.  The white, yogurt-like foamy stuff is usually on top, under that is the oil, and on the bottom is water.

How many liters of coconut milk did you use? Did you make it with fresh coconut?  Where do you live?  This process requires the presence of coconut yeast which in general there would be some of if you used fresh coconut, but if you are not in a big coconut area it might take a little longer for the yeast to get going.  What is the ambient temperature there btw?

For those who want to try making pressed (instead of fermented) unrefined coconut oil, you might want to get one of these hand-presses, made in the Netherlands: http://www.piteba.com/eng/index_eng.htm 

Hi Lawrita,

Glad to hear that the page is helpful.  There are many ways to do the final step of separating the oil.  The one that works best for you will depend on the amount of coconut milk you have, and your available containers.  My recommendation for your first time is to make about 1 gallon of coconut milk (about 10 medium-large coconuts) and to immediately pour it into a 1.5 gallon clear container after you strain it.  This way, you can see visually as your coconut oil separates.  You'll see that it is separating (you'll observe tiny bits of oil going up and other things going down) after about 12-24 hours.  When it appears the separation has stopped after 24-48 hours, you can siphon off the oil or put it in the fridge to harden it.

After you have got the hang of the process, you can make larger batches like 5 or more gallons in stainless steel pots or plastic and just siphon off the oil.  Feel free to post some more comments and photos of your process, and we'll do our best to help.

Peter

I just received this question on another forum : I have seen people just heat the whole bottle under warm water until enough liquifies for the immediate use, then keep the rest in a cabinet. Is this okay, or should it be refrigerated between uses?

This was my answer:

Hi Ramona,

As with any oil (especially without preservatives and unpasteurized), coconut oil becomes rancid when exposed to oxygen at room temperature. If you have a sealed bottle with very little air, then it will certainly be a much slower process. But after you have an open bottle, oil becomes rancid more quickly. According to research I have read by Mary Enig and others, rancid oil is carcinogenic (as is burnt oil cooked at too high a temperature).

My wife and I keep our coconut oil in the fridge usually but sometimes we leave it out for a few days and consider it no big deal. But I would definitely not want to leave any opened oil out for more than a week, and certainly not more than a month.

We also buy bulk sunflower oil with no preservatives and keep the large container in the fridge or freezer, and a small container out to use for frying sometimes (sometimes we mix 50/50 with coconut oil also).

If you have never learned to tell the difference between rancid and good oil, you should sometime specifically smell some oil without preservatives that has been out on the counter for 3 months. Compare to a new unopened bottle when you first open it. Rancid oils are ok for coating your tools or bike chain but they are not for human consumption.

Peter

You might want to take a look at one article I recently noticed: Is Coconut Milk Fattening? Read the article and its links to see some of the facts and myths about oils. If you are a health freak, make sure to dig deep enough to read what Mary Enig said about saturated fat (annoying subscription required) which is linked to by the other article also.

After reading your idea it took me a few days to try it, but now I have, and I can report - it's fabulous!  I had tried it with just two coconuts yesterday, but today I used a whole sack: stocking up!  I just used my normal coconut milk process with the blender; at the end I also added some salt.  Thanks for the great idea.