Coconut oil is known to be versatile and is mainly used for cooking. It’s also used for personal and pet care.

In this article, we’ll cover the following:

Most commercially made coconut oil comes from copra, the dried coconut meat. The initial extraction of oil from the coconut meat yields what we call, ‘virgin coconut oil.’

The classification of coconut oil usually depends on its preparation. RBD (refined, bleached, deodorized) oil is the most common commercial grade coconut oil available on the market.

Coconut oil making may be time-consuming, but it isn’t a super tedious task.

We’re going to present three methods of how coconut oil is made. Make your coconut oil at home using the boiling method, the cold process method, and the wet milling method.

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Free Brown Coconuts Stock Photo

Boiling Method

This is the most widely recognized method of making coconut oil. It involves using heat to separate the oil from its coconut meat. Lightly heating the oil ensures it doesn’t become rancid. However, a drawback of this procedure is that heat destroys nutrients. Using this method would likely make you lose some beneficial nutrients.

What you’ll need:

  • Spatula or ladle
  • Stove
  • Bowl
  • Saucepan
  • Coconut grater
  • Blender
  • Cheesecloth
  • 2 large Coconut
  • 4 cups Water

Directions:

  1. Crack the two coconuts open. You can use a cleaver to do this.
  2. Grate the coconut meat into a bowl using a hand or an electric coconut grater.
  3. Place the 4 cups of water in a saucepan and put it on a stove. You can set your stove to medium heat and wait until it starts steaming.
  4. Blend the grated coconut and hot water. Do not fill the blender cup with hot water and grated coconut mixture. You don’t want the lid to fly off the blender! Do this procedure in batches if it isn’t possible to do it all at once.
  5. Once you’ve got the coconut puree, use a cheesecloth to strain the coconut milk. Pour the puree over the cheesecloth so the coconut milk filters into the bowl. After filtering the coconut puree, wrap the cheesecloth with the clumps and squeeze it hard to extract more coconut milk.
  6. Put the drained coconut milk in a saucepan and place it on a stove. Set the heat to medium-high. Bring it to boiling with constant stirring until the water evaporates. After some time, the cream separates from the oil and turns brown. This can be time-consuming as it would reach an hour to achieve this state. But don’t stress! Stir it like you’re waving a wand while doing magic!
  7. You’re almost done making your coconut oil! Strain the oil again to remove residues made during the process. Then, it’s all ready to use.

Cold Process Method

This method uses no heat, so it retains most of the nutrients found in coconut oil. It may produce less oil. But if you’re after high-quality oil with the most nutrients in it, try this method.

What you’ll need:

  • Dehydrated coconut or coconut flakes
  • Juicer
  • Wide-mouthed container
  • Spoon
  • Cheesecloth

Directions:

  1. Begin with the dried or dehydrated coconut. You can purchase dried coconut flakes from the market. Make sure that coconut is the only ingredient in the pack. It’s advisable to choose coconut flakes over desiccated coconut. Take note that you will use a juicer in this process, and you don’t want to clog your juicer.
  2. You can use the oven at its most reduced temperature to dry coconut meat. Cut it into small pieces. Then, put the coconut pieces on a baking tray. Cook it for about 8 hours at a low temperature or until it’s dry completely.
  3. Extract the coconut milk by using the juicer. Try not to put all coconut flakes in the juicer at once so it won’t clog up. Repeat the process until you’ve put all the coconut flakes in the juicer. You can repeat the process to ensure that you extract all the milk from the flakes.
  4. Now, get a wide-mouthed container and put the coconut oil in it.
  5. Store it in a warm place and let it sit for 24 hours so the coconut cream will settle at the base of the container. You’ll observe that it will rise to the top of the container.
  6. Once the oil has separated from the coconut cream, scoop the oil out using a spoon and transfer it into another container. You can also use a cheesecloth to separate the oil from the cream. Just get another wide-mouthed container and put the cheesecloth over it. Decant the oil slowly so as not to disturb the cream.
  7. Your coconut oil is now ready to use!

Wet Milling Method – Refrigeration

This method extracts the oil from fresh coconut meat without drying or heating it. “Coconut milk” is expressed first by pressing. Refrigeration is done to separate the oil from the water.

What you’ll need:

  • 1 Fresh, mature coconut
    Water
  • Coconut grater
  • Food processor
  • Cheesecloth
  • Wide-mouth glass container
  • Spoon

Directions:

  1. Use a coconut grater to remove the coconut meat from its shell.
  2. In a food processor, place the grated coconut and add a little water. Blend it on medium speed until you come up with a coconut puree.
  3. Now, get a cheesecloth. Then, put this in a wide-mouth container.
  4. You can now filter the coconut milk by pouring it gradually on the cheesecloth. Once done, pull out the cheesecloth. Wrap and squeeze it hard to extract more coconut milk.
  5. Leave the container unattended for no less than 24 hours. As it settles, the separates from the oil. You’ll observe a layer of curd at the top of the container.
  6. Refrigerate the container so that the curd quickly solidifies.
  7. Scoop out the curd with a spoon. You can either discard it or use it as a whip cream substitute.
  8. Liquefy the coconut oil by putting it in a warm place. When it’s completely liquefied, you can strain the oil using a cheesecloth to remove residual curd from the container.
  9. Yay! You’ve got your homemade coconut oil!

Here are some useful tips about making a homemade coconut oil:

  • It’s best to use a fully developed brown coconut instead of the green young ones. This makes you get more coconut meat, which means more coconut oil!
  • It’s advisable to lightly heat the oil to ensure it doesn’t become rancid. Coconut oil must reduce its final moisture content to 0.25% or less. If this isn’t done, your coconut oil won’t have a longer shelf life and will likely smell.

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