[ARTIKEL] 29 Apr 2020
Now more and more people are choosing to use natural ingredients to take care of their health and appearance. One of them is coconut oil. Want your hair to grow faster and better? Just apply it on the scalp.
Likewise, the taste and nutrients it provides in various foods make coconut oil more popular and sought after. But before trying it yourself, you should choose the best quality coconut oil.
There are a number of considerations to go through, but fortunately, here's an easy guide that will help you find the right coconut oil for your needs.
Taste and Aroma
Coconut oil has a unique taste and aroma. Although the aroma is not overpowering, real coconut oil will smell similar to freshly opened coconut.
On the other hand, if it smells like toasted nuts, it means that one of the healthy oils has been heated, reducing the nutritional goodness in it.
Purpose of Use
If you plan to cook using coconut oil or consume it raw, choose coconut oil that has a food-grade label. This means that the coconut oil is made with high production quality standards.
Thus, coconut oil is ideal for health purposes, caring for appearance and for daily needs. If you want to use coconut oil externally, you can choose non-food grade coconut oil.
Oil Extraction Method
Even though you are still new to choosing coconut oil, you can make choices based on the extraction method. Most coconut oil is cold-pressed. However, the process leading up to that step is an important factor. Many producers heat coconut to extract as much oil as possible. In fact, the only way to get the best nutrition is not to warm up from start to finish.
Another method that is now becoming obsolete is the expeller-pressed. This method uses a heating process to squeeze the oil out of the coconut flesh. However, this method can damage important nutrients such as medium-chain fatty acids and lauric acid which are beneficial for health.
Coconut Cooking Oil Packaging
Now, there are various choices of coconut cooking oil on the market. In addition to considering the extraction method and appearance, cooking oil packaging can also be an important factor.
One of the containers used is a glass bottle like other healthy oils such as olive oil. A tightly closed glass bottle usually won't trigger a change in flavor and can lock in nutrients more effectively.
However, now not a few are also using plastic as packaging for coconut cooking oil. Besides being cheaper, buying coconut oil in large enough quantities in plastic packaging makes it easier for you to make changes to a healthier and more natural lifestyle.
The Importance of Refined or Refined Labels
Refined oil has a higher smoke point which makes it suitable for high temperature cooking methods. However, this refining process has an impact such as removing nutrients and removing the natural taste and aroma of coconut.
Therefore, when shopping for coconut oil used for deep-frying or sautéing, look for labels that indicate a chemical-free extraction process.
As for other coconut oil purposes, including low- or no-heat cooking, such as salad dressings or grilling, virgin coconut oil is the best choice. Look for coconut oil that says unrefined, extra-virgin or cold-pressed.
Use the following tips to find the best coconut oil for your health.