Coconut oil too hard to work with?


#1

Does anyone else find coconut oil too hard to bake/cook with? I keep it in a cupboard but it’s still rather hard, so I have to use a spoon to “shave” it out for recipes, and by then it’s all over the jar, the spoon, the counter, my hands, etc. When the recipe calls for mixing all the ingredients together, it’s too hard to do that so I try melting it in the microwave first but the container gets so hot but the coconut oil still has big clumps in it.

Is there a coconut oil that’s LIQUID rather than like solid lard?
Sue


(Michael ) #2

You could use mct oil for the same health benefits but not sure about cooking or smoke points. I just drink it and use olive oil or lard or butter in cooking


(VLC.MD) #3

Put it near a heater … it’ll turn liquid. Might take too long though.

use a heated ice cream scooper ?


(Michael ) #4

Yrah, it’s supposed to be liquid at like 78 degrees but mine never is. Maybe it’s crap or old


#5

Thanks for the replies. My jar says liquid at 78 degrees, too, but still takes a long time even in the microwave. I should check the expiration date but I only bought it a few weeks ago.

Lots of the recipes I try to make call for coconut oil but I get so frustrated after fighting with this ingredient. I once purchased liquid, flavored coconut oil and it tasted horrific so I threw it away but it was at least in a pourable, liquid form.
Sue


(Todd Allen) #6

Put the jar in a pan of hot water. It will melt fairly quick without getting crazy hot like it would in the microwave.


#7

I just heat my butter, lard and coconut oil in low temperature to melt it first if needed.

The more liquid it is the faster it turns rancid. In fact I avoid the liquidy brands, though the more refined the coconut oil the more liquid it tends to be.

I think avocado and macadamia oil are healthy too. I know Trader Joe’s sells avocado oil.

For olive oil, the healthy non-rancid ones turns thick and cloudly when put in the fridge.


(Darlene Horsley) #8

I found this one at our local Wal-Mart!


(Michael ) #9

I just used half avacado oil in the mayonnaise i made. Tasted pretty good. Impossible to find mayonnaise in the store with industrial seed oils


(Liz Myers) #10

There is 76 degree coconut oil (normal) and 92 degree coconut oil (hydrogenated).
I’ve really only ever seen the 76 degree oil.

I use it for making soap and cooking - my 76 degree oil is easy to scoop in my low 60’s kitchen - so if you are having that hard of a time scooping it, I’d have to wonder if you have the 92 degree oil?


(Consensus is Politics) #11

Wow. I can’t keep it long enough for it to go rancid. I was beginning to think it was indestructible. Mine says 76 degrees is the cut off for liquid to solid. My house usually runs a little on the cool side, so it’s always solid. I use it mostly in my coffee, but occasionally I cook with it. I just scrap it out with a spoon and guess the amount. Needles to say, I’m not a good cook. But I learn, and I have a few things I can make really well. I learned a trick with the jar though. It gets awkward to spoon out at times when it has all these craters in it from previous spooning. I put it in the cabinet above my fridge (which is pretty much perpetually 80 degrees because of the heat from the fridge) over night to liquify it. I later put it back in the pantry to solidify again to a nice flat surface, easy to spoon.

If you really have issues, here is what I would do…

Assuming you have heard he large plastic jar like I have, roughly half gallon size, find a smaller glass jar that will hold at least the amount you expect you will be cooking with. Like a ball canning jar for instance. Something that can withstand heat. Not like the jar mine comes in. I washed it out in the dishwasher, and well, remember “shrinky dinks”? Yeah, it was comical.

So… take the smaller glass jar that is now filled with liquid oil, and find a warm location to keep it. Or, if no warm location is available, preheat the jar in a pan of very hot water. It will melt down in a few minutes. Maybe 15 to 20 (educated guess, I could be wrong, I haven’t tried it). And just refill the jar as needed.


(Michael ) #12

Interesting. I wonder what they did to make it stay liquid? 350 is pretty low smoke point. Light olive oil is better for higher heat


(Consensus is Politics) #13

Wow… today is coincidence day. I saw that for the first time today at my Walmart. My first thought was, how do they keep it liquid? And why does it cost 4 times as much?


(Consensus is Politics) #14

I thought that was a low smoke point too.


(Michael ) #15

It’s Wal-Mart, so something to do with exploiting children in the 3rd world maybe? Or magic


(Darlene Horsley) #16

Found the answer.

CARRINGTON FARMS LIQUID COCONUT OIL FAQS

  1. How does Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil stay liquid?

All Coconut oil is made up of a number of different fatty acids, all of which have their own distinct melting points. The fatty acids with higher melting points are the reason regular coconut oil is solid at room temperature (approximately 68 degrees F). Through our proprietary distillation process, fatty acids with higher melting points are removed, concentrating and leaving the fatty acids with lower melting points. The final result is healthy and convenient-to-use liquid coconut oil.

  1. How is Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil made?
    Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil starts with certified organic coconuts that are cold expeller pressed into oil. It then goes through our proprietary distillation process, which separates out fatty acids that have higher melting points. This leaves us with liquid coconut oil containing a higher concentration of those healthy fatty acids that have a low melting points, allowing Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil to remain liquid at room temperature.

(Michael ) #17

Interesting, so I wonder what that translates to in medium chain triglyceride content. Same? Chemist!


(Jo O) #18

When I started I’d melt some solid fats like coconut oil or ghee and pour them into plain candy molds. Then keep them in mason jars in the refrigerator or freezer.
Measurements are more accurate this way.
All the labor is upfront.

Now, I just scoop out a guesstimate. Or as suggest, set in a bowl/pan of hot water.
Nothing we cook needs accurate measuring.


#19

I like this - thank you! So glad you understand my struggles with getting it out of the jar, working around the previously formed craters, etc. :slight_smile:


#20

All these “planning ahead” ideas are great, but won’t do me much good when I’m having a killer chocolate craving and decide I better quickly make myself a keto-friendly goodie before I do something stupid. Trust me - patience is not a word that’s ever shown up next to my profile! :rofl:
Sue