Coconut oil: nutrition and how to use it

Fun facts

• Coconut oil turns solid below about 24°C. In cool weather or an air-conditioned room the jar goes white and waxy, then clear again on a hot afternoon.
• 100g of coconut oil has 892 kcal and 99.1g of fat. A tablespoon is about 120 kcal, on par with other oils.
• Unlike most plant oils, coconut oil is mostly saturated fat. That is why it sets like lard.
• Bến Tre is Vietnam's famous coconut province. Rendering oil from coconut milk is a traditional craft in many parts of the countryside.

Choosing and storing

Virgin coconut oil smells of coconut and suits baking and sweets. Refined coconut oil is almost scentless and suits savory cooking. Keep it sealed, cool, dry and out of the sun. Solid or melted, both are normal and do not change the quality.

Cooking it well

Coconut oil works for medium-heat pan-frying, baking, toasting coconut or cooking dishes with coconut milk. Virgin oil smokes sooner than refined, so do not let the pan get too hot; see our smoke point chart. Because it is high in saturated fat, we treat coconut oil as a flavor oil, rotating it with olive oil or other plant oils rather than using it every day.

Frequently asked questions