Coconut oil can be divided into two categories: virgin and refined. Virgin coconut oil is made from fresh coconuts and can be extracted using various methods, including direct micro-ejection (DME), which is considered the gold standard. Refined coconut oil is made from copra and is considered inferior. Coconut oil can be used for cooking, as a skin moisturizer, and as a hair conditioner.
Unlike olive oil, the standards for making quality distinctions in coconut oil are not currently governed by fixed guidelines. For this reason, there is no real category of “extra virgin coconut oil” that can be defined by a specific set of criteria. This term is generally used as a marketing strategy to emphasize purity or quality. In fact, both “virgin” and “extra virgin coconut oil” are likely the same in composition.
Instead of the many subcategories that distinguish between olive oil grades, coconut oil can be divided into two primary classes: virgin and refined.
Virgin coconut oil
Virgin coconut oil is made from the flesh of fresh coconuts. There are several methods used to extract the oil from coconut meat. In the wet milling method, fresh coconut meat is pressed and the liquid that is released, called coconut milk, is then separated into coconut water and coconut oil.
This separation process can be conducted by a variety of means, including mechanical separation by centrifuging, swirling the two liquids, or subjecting the coconut milk to extreme temperatures, fermentation, or even enzymatic activity.
Wet milling can also be done by a process called direct micro-ejection (DME), in which oil is cold-pressed from fresh coconut meat within an hour of opening the die. The DME method is considered by many to be the gold standard of coconut oil production, as it produces oil that remains raw and unrefined, is not hydrogenated, and is free from impurities. Alternatively, the fresh coconut meat can be quickly dried to remove the water and the oil is then extruded from the meat by pressing.
Refined coconut oil
Refined coconut oil is considered inferior to virgin oil. It is made from copra or coconut meat dried by smoking, oven drying or sun drying. This is not the same as coconut meat which is rapidly dried to produce virgin coconut oil. The copra used to make refined oil is often subjected to unsanitary conditions and is therefore unfit for human consumption until it has undergone a purification or refining process.
Coconut oil that has undergone the refining process is labeled as “RBD” or “refined, bleached and deodorized” coconut oil. RBD coconut oil is often hydrogenated and is sometimes obtained through the use of chemical solvents. Hydrogenated oil contains trans fatty acids, diminishing the health benefits that would otherwise be obtained from coconut oil.
Uses of Coconut Oil
Hydrogenated coconut oils can be found in processed foods like cakes and coffee spreads. Due to the current awareness of the negative effects of trans fatty acids on human health, coconut oil has gotten a bad reputation. But emerging research seems to indicate that the consumption of virgin coconut oil – also known as “extra virgin coconut oil” by some manufacturers, especially when the DME method is used – may have some health-supporting benefits.
Virgin coconut oil contains a relatively high percentage of medium-chain fatty acids such as lauric acid, which some proponents have antiviral and metabolism-supporting effects. Coconut oil marketed for its health properties can typically be labeled as extra virgin coconut oil.
Coconut oil can be used as a cooking oil for both culinary and nutritional purposes, as a skin moisturizer, and as a hair conditioner.
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