Avivah Werner

Flavor of coconut oil

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Avivah

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>>I have a question about dfifferent brands of coconut oil and their taste.  I went to my local health food store and they had a couple of brands of coconut oil (either expeller pressed, virgin or extra-virgin).  I asked one of the sales people about the flavor and she said they are all pretty coconut flavored.  I want to make both sweet and savory foods and I cannot imagine coconut flavor going over well in a Italian or Mediterranean dish :).  Can you help with a brand that will fit that need?  I can buy a jar of the other kind for sweet foods and for skin care, etc. <<

This just goes to show that just because someone works in a health food store, they won’t necessarily have accurate knowledge of all products!  Extra virgin is the best quality and will definitely have a coconut flavor.  If it’s expeller pressed, it’s odorless and flavorless.  I use expeller pressed for most of my baking and cooking, when I don’t want a coconut flavor. 

There are apparently differences between the flavors of extra virgin coconut oils, but I’m not very sensitive to the differences.  I’m currently using Golden Barrel expeller pressed and Mountain Herbs extra virgin coconut oil, and am satisfied with them both. I’ve also used Spectrum and Omega extra virgin, and they were also both good.  If anyone would like to share their experience or preferences for certain coconut oils, please do in the comment section below – others considering using and learning about coconut oil will find it helpful!

Avivah

Comments

5 responses to “Flavor of coconut oil”

  1. Dina Avatar
    Dina

    we use Earth Circle Organics for extra virgin and it tastes like coconut and is very good, we like it. However, for dishes that we don’t want to taste like coconut we have been using Spectrum expeller pressed, however I am going to order in bulk as buying this way is proving too expensive. Is Golden barrel certified kosher, Avivah? Was it cheaper than MRH? Thanks

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  2. yael Avatar
    yael

    The salesperson I asked uses only coconut oil which is why I trusted her. I don’t want coconut flavored tuna melts, so I didn’t buy any last week. Back to the store!!

    Reply
  3. Avivah Avatar
    Avivah

    Golden Barrel is certified OU; it’s expeller pressed and this is something fairly new that I’m using. Because I’m able to get it without paying shipping, it’s cheaper for me than MRH (though I’ll continue buying the extra virgin from MRH), but I don’t know if most people would be able to do that. I’ve made a special arrangement with a supermarket manager to order through them when they make their bulk order and then they pass on the savings to me.

    Reply
  4. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    I’ve read many things about coconut oil assisting in weight loss. I remember you mentioning it assists with metabolism. Do you think there is any validity to the weight loss claims?

    Reply
  5. Avivah Avatar
    Avivah

    Sara, I do think that the weight loss claim is valid because increasing your metabolism is key to losing weight, right? There are a couple of books that speak to this aspect of coconut oil (well, other things, too, but the weight loss aspect is given a lot of print space) – Eat Fat, Look Thin, by Bruce Fife, and Eat Fat, Lose Fat, by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.

    Reply

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