There are many methods available for producing coconut oil, however many producers label that their product as "virgin". What really defines a Virgin Coconut Oil?
Coconut Oil is produced from the meat/kernel part of the fruit. Coconut cooking oil is often extracted from black copra with chemical solvents, high temperature and bleaching. On the other hand, virgin coconut oil is extracted with very little or no heat at all and without the use of chemicals.
“Different methods of producing Virgin Coconut Oil”
Most virgin coconut oil products are also simultaneously labelled as cold-press, meaning no heat is applied in the extraction process. However, this label can be applied to a spectrum of different qualities of virgin coconut oil incorrectly. Centrifuge Extraction - Wet Process Fresh coconut meat is first grated and mixed with water to produce coconut milk. The coconut milk then goes into a centrifuge machine, which spins it and therefore separates the oil from milk liquid. While this method does not directly use heat as part of its extraction method, centrifuge spinning itself does create friction and some heat. The equipments can get especially hot when operated for long production hours. Centrifuge extraction method has the advantage of extracting high yields of oil from the coconut meat. Expeller Pressed - Dry Process This method is often claimed as cold pressed process incorrectly. Firstly, many producers use dried copra as main material for expeller machine. Copra is mostly dried out in the sun and might contain fungus or impurities, and many copra makers use sulphur to prevent fungal growths. Secondly, heat is applied in most expeller press machines so that the maximum amount of coconut oil can be extracted from the copra. The involvement of heat changes the nutritional properties of coconut oil negatively. Mechanical Cold Press - Dry Process Dewacoco company considers this method as the best to produce the highest quality of virgin coconut oil. Coconut meat is washed, cut and dried in Dewacoco's own production facilities. It then gets shredded into small pieces to enable a quicker pressing process that uses no heat whatsoever. The only drawback from this method is that it produces a lower yield of coconut oil. However, the final output is the purest, rawest, highest quality of virgin coconut oil possible. In addition, Dewacoco also has a separate production line using wood press equipments (#Marachekku). A traditional Indian extraction method, wood pressed virgin coconut oil is marketed towards South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka) and its diaspora around the globe.
What is Virgin Coconut Oil good for?
Virgin Coconut Oil is a very versatile product which can be used directly for eating/cooking and also for skin/hair application.
Since it is a raw unprocessed oil, it still retains a fragrant coconut aroma. Virgin coconut oil is a superb substitute for creamer in coffee and as a vegan alternative to butter. It is also an important ingredient for natural coconut flavouring in baking and ice cream making.
You can check out many more usages of virgin coconut oil in this amazing article with the link below:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coconut-oil-uses
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