Coconut oil is an important component of numerous hair and body beauty care goods, but you can also use it for your food cooking purposes. You can buy this oil everywhere, yet, what if you could make it on your own, in the comfort of your home and without heat? Here it is – a useful guide to making virgin coconut oil without heat!
Coconut oil – what is it?
Coconut oil is one of the most popular vegetable oils, which is squeezed out of copra (a name for dried coconut kernel). The oil has a rich chemical composition and contains plenty of useful elements. There’s an opinion that the oil is dangerous for health, but it’s not true if you take only a little of it. Below, you will find more about the possible uses of coconut oil.
Now, let’s find out how to make coconut oil and what you may need for it. The first method involves a hot press that squeezes the oil out of the freshly dried kernel. The second one requires the use of cold pressure.
The first method is much more effective because it allows squeezing practically the entire amount of oil that’s in the kernel. At the same time, it destroys plenty of useful elements in the oil. The cold method is way less effective, bringing only 10% of the oil that’s there in the kernel but the usefulness of the oil is not ruined. This is why the cold-pressed coconut oil is so expensive.
Cold-pressing coconut oil at home
As it was mentioned before, the cold pressing is quite costly so prepare your wallet for the parting with a significant amount of money. Besides that, be prepared for three whole days of waiting until the oil is done. The preparation will only take you several hours while the rest of the time is purely waiting.
Your materials and tools:
- Ripe coconuts – 3 items
- A hammer and a screwdriver
- One tea towel
- A big bowl and two smaller ones
- A small but sharp knife
- A device for peeling vegetables
- A blender or a food processor
- 3 cups of clean non-chlorinated water (1 cup per each coconut)
- A piece of cheesecloth
- A sieve
- A ladle
- A sterilized glass jar to store the oil (big enough to contain about ½ cup of coconut oa il)
Your steps:
Step 1: Make 2 or 3 holes in each coconut and drain the water into one of the prepared bowls. You can use a drill or a screwdriver with a hammer, whatever you like.
Step 2: Open the coconuts by wrapping them one by one in a towel and smashing with a hammer. Several powerful hits will be enough to open the shell and discover the white kernel pulp.
Step 3: With the help of the small knife, start separating the pulp from the husk. Then, use the peeler to remove the thin brown film. In the end, there will remain the empty husk, the white pulp, and the bowl of coconut water. Husk is out of use now, so you can throw it away.
Step 4: Wash the pulp with clean water and put it in your blender together with the coconut water. Then, blend all this finely on very high speed until you can see that the texture is even and smooth.
Step 5: Put the blended mass into a large bowl and add the prepared non-chlorinated water. Wash your hands thoroughly and prepare for the most interesting. Grab the coconut mash into your fists and squeeze as hard as you can. Keep doing it until the water resembles milk with its whiteness. Allow it for a few hours.
Step 6: With the help of the ladle, scoop the coconut into a sieve that’s additionally covered with the cheesecloth. When you have everything in, squeeze the cloth so that the coconut flakes are almost dry. The flakes are now out of play, but you can use them for cooking purposes or so.
Step 7: Find a suitable lid and cover the coconut milk in the bowl. It will need one or two days before you can proceed. At best, leave it in a fridge.
Step 8: In some time, you will notice how the liquid separates into three layers. A cloudy one closer to the bottom, the layer of the oil in the middle, and some cream on top of all this.
Step 9: Remove the cream, which can be used for cooking purposes. Use the cheesecloth to filter the rest of the liquid.
Step 10: Place the oil into a glass jar, and here it is, ready for being used!
Possible uses for coconut oil
There are many ways to use the coconut oil you have just prepared on your own. It’s really impossible to list all of them here.
- You can add it to your tea and feel the boost of energy.
- You can use it as a base for a body scrub with sugar and the same leftover flakes of the coconut pulp
- You can use it on your skin as a sunscreen or treat the existing sunburns
- You can add some baking soda and brush your teeth with this natural toothpaste
- You can use it as a shaving means that soothes you skin
- You can apply it to your hair to style it and to make it grow strong and healthy
Now, when you know how to make this oil, you can have it easily and find a number of uses for it without problems. Give the method a try, share it with friends, and enjoy the positive effect of the cold-pressed virgin coconut oil.
