Making Coconut Oil?

[hennypenny9]

So I've been watching LOST lately, as it's available on Netflix, and I was thinking, hey... I wonder if anyone there knows how to make soap? (Yes I understand this is a completely fake show, I'm just being silly. And I've only seen season one, so no spoilers!) And not only making lye, and rendering boar fat. Jazzing it up a bit with coconut oil for soap and cooking!

Anyway, I found these sites which describe the process.

http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/CocoOil/CocoOil.html

http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2008/04/diy-coconut-oil.html

It makes me want to try, if only to prove that I CAN. Has anyone done this? I mean, the first link starts with "we went out back to get some coconuts..." LOL, lucky! And obviously here that's not so much an option...

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks henny, I just spent 10 bucks on coconut oil too! That was very cool that they did it for a science fair project...children these days!

 

[ORChick]

How interesting! And labor intensive . Rather like, I imagine, making one's own maple syrup. I'll bet it tastes good though. I do make my own coconut milk when cooking Asian food - per instructions from my favorite Asian cookbook: the Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon - but have always started with dried unsweetened coconut. Not too many fresh coconuts hanging on the trees in Oregon . I find it easier to store a gallon jar full of shredded coconut (bought quite cheaply at my favorite Indian market - in California, unfortunately, so I only go once a year) than to stock a number of cans of coconut milk.

 

[Carolyn]

you mean making lye and rendering fat? Yes it can be done--but I would have to practice making the lye and then wonder how strong it was, it would take some practice and time--i think others here have rendered fats -my brother has a freezer full of pork fat to render -I would wonder about the strength of the homemade lye. I have the methods written down jsut in case we would ever need it. It is very interesting.

 

[NancyDz]

How interesting! And labor intensive . Rather like, I imagine, making one's own maple syrup. I'll bet it tastes good though. I do make my own coconut milk when cooking Asian food - per instructions from my favorite Asian cookbook: the Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon - but have always started with dried unsweetened coconut. Not too many fresh coconuts hanging on the trees in Oregon . I find it easier to store a gallon jar full of shredded coconut (bought quite cheaply at my favorite Indian market - in California, unfortunately, so I only go once a year) than to stock a number of cans of coconut milk.

You can get coconut milk at Trader Joe's

 

[ORChick]

How interesting! And labor intensive . Rather like, I imagine, making one's own maple syrup. I'll bet it tastes good though. I do make my own coconut milk when cooking Asian food - per instructions from my favorite Asian cookbook: the Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon - but have always started with dried unsweetened coconut. Not too many fresh coconuts hanging on the trees in Oregon . I find it easier to store a gallon jar full of shredded coconut (bought quite cheaply at my favorite Indian market - in California, unfortunately, so I only go once a year) than to stock a number of cans of coconut milk.

You can get coconut milk at Trader Joe's

One can get coconut milk at just about any supermarket, but, as stated, keeping dried coconut on hand, and mixing the milk up as I need it takes less space, and is cheaper; a better alternative for me