Since the summer has started, I was busy last week making fresh homemade coconut oil for this year’s use in cooking. We store the homemade coconut oil in huge jars, after it is sun dried well and use it throughout the year. Making homemade coconut oil is a time consuming process. We first cut open the coconuts and sun dry them till the inner flesh starts leaving the outer shells. Then we remove them from the outer shell and cut them into pieces and again sun dry them.
After that we send it to the local oil mill, where they extract the oil with little bit of jaggery. When the oil is brought home from the oil mill, it is very cloudy and has a milky appearance. We sun dry the oil for a week, till the residue settles down and the clear oil floats on top. We strain the clear oil and store it in huge jars in our pantry.
Since both my parents and in laws use coconut oil for cooking, I love the flavor of coconut oil very much. Now that I am so used to homemade coconut oil, I find it very hard to use refined coconut oil from the markets. Once I had bought a small bottle of coconut oil while traveling and I was shocked to see that the coconut oil did not even solidify during winter time.
One of our relatives also mentioned about coconut oil manufacturers adding coconut essence to refined coconut oil that is made from inferior coconuts to get that fresh smell. I personally feel that we should make it a point to use unrefined oils. That is how our elders were using these oils all these years and in my humble opinion, that is how we should continue to use these oils, to get all the benefits they offer.
We also make an easy version of unrefined coconut oil from coconut milk. The homemade extra virgin coconut oil/ kachiya enna recipe made this way is so pure, that it can be even used on new born babies skin. This homemade oil can be used on skin, hair and even for massage. To make coconut oil, first grate fresh coconut and grind it in a mixer along with little water and strain it to get coconut milk.
Now start heating the coconut milk in a pan, first the coconut milk will split. Continue boiling it till it reduces nicely and all the water evaporates. At one point, you will find the coconut oil separating and beautiful coconut smell emanating, at this stage switch off. Let it cool and strain the oil. The amount of coconut oil got from this method is very less, so we use this method to make coconut oil especially for using it on babies.
How to Make Virgin Coconut Oil at Home
METHOD:
1. Grate an organic coconut. Extract coconut milk by blending the freshly grated coconut with little water in a blender and strain.
2. Heat the coconut milk in a thick bottomed pan.
3. After some time you will see that the coconut milk has split, continue boiling.
5. Boil till the water evaporates fully.
6. When you continue boiling for some more time, you will find oil floating on top. Now switch off.
7. Let it cool, strain and store it in glass bottles. Now your homemade fresh coconut oil is ready!
NOTES:
- Make sure to use organic coconut, if you are planning to use it on babies.
- Use thick bottomed pan, else it will burn easily.
- It takes quite some time to make this oil, so make it when you have plenty of time.
Your website if very informative. I always refer to your site when in need. Keep up the good job!
Thanks a lot, Sunu 🙂
This is the best informative blog I have come across lately. I'm addicted to it since 2 days….
How do you get the meat separated from the shell? Is there any easy way to do it?
Hi, we use traditional instrument called aruvamanai to separate the meat from the coconut. Nowadays most of the table top grinders in India come with coconut scraping attachment and it is exactly like a citrus juicer, the scrapper rotates and if you press the coconut on top of it, it scrapes the coconut meat easily…..
Dear Mam, what can we do with the processed coconut meat after extracting the milk. Shall we use it for coconut burfi's?Geetha S
Dear Geetha, we usually discard the coconut meat after extracting the milk. I would suggest not using it in sweets as the left over coconut meat will taste bland after the coconut milk is extracted from it…
Hi Ramya,how to find out the organic cocount.i am love it.please tel
Hi Jega, It is hard to visibly identify a coconut as organic. It is better to buy coconuts from reputed organic shops that are certified…..
Ok thank u ramya
Hello. One question. Are the coconut shavings grated along with the milk, or is just the milk is boiled on low heat?Also, since the milk is translucent, does it eventually turn white or is this property specific to coconuts from the South?
Hi Sonaa, The coconut shavings are ground in a mixer along with little boiled water to extract coconut milk and only the milk is boiled to get the coconut oil. Homemade coconut milk is white and it is not fully translucent, it is the same for the milk extracted from all types of coconut….
Mam, will use coconut milk on babies skin before taking bath. If apply on regular base to change fair skin. Sree
Homemade coconut milk can be applied on the babies skin before bath especially if the child has dry skin. There is no ingredient that will change the color of the skin tone we are born with but ingredients like kasthuri manjal brightens the skin tone, if used regularly. Try homemade bath powder from the blog for the baby……
Ramaya do you know for recpies as this and all others you should start a course. Some trees are so difficult to identify it is possible to learn only after you see. Can you do something like a workshop. Because my inlaws get coconut oil but I never saw them sundry it. They are from Kerala. Love the blog. Ekta. I am nowhere except on yahoo email. So the anonymous. Bless you.
Pls tell me remedy for acne marks and skin tan….
Please try the turmeric mask and holy basil from the blog for acne. For skin tan, apply a mixture of homemade sour yogurt with pure gram flour as a pack…..
How long does this oil last for and should some spice (pepper, rock salt) or safe edible be put into it to preserve it? How to to store it and to tell it went spoiled?
This coconut milk method produces very little coconut oil and for me it gets over very fast. If you want to store the oil for a long time sun dry the oil and don't add any spices. Also never store the oil in plastic bottles and sun dry the oil once in every 2 months, it will not spoil at all for a few months. The coconut oil will smell bad if it spoils….
At the most how many months? For future posts please inform us on how long it is safe to store something and how to tell it went bad…
At the most it will last from 3 to 6 months if the water content is removed properly. If it goes bad, it will have a bad smell. I will try my best to give the shelf life of all the products from now on….
How to subscribe to all the comments to everyone's questions so I get informed on a response ? They're really good :)I got coconut oil that smells like soured curd and one that is very cloudy in oil stage not solid stage. What happened?
And one coconut oil smelled like fish. So after opening a brand new bottle: one was cloudy in oil stage it was brownish creamish cloudy like murky water, one smells like fish, one smells like sour curd, one smells like roasted nuts smell.What happened? They're all brand new too.Immediately bought and opened.
when i apply oil on hair and some doesn't get fully absorbed, when washing it with the water when the oil and water mix it burns…how to prevent this. in general when oil comes into contact with the water it burns….how to remove it without the water reacting this way with it? for skin and hair…..
i have also noticed that some coconut oil are pale yellow instead of clear color that's more white. i don't know what the pale yellow color indicates…..it almost looks like sesame oil. can you explain.
or it doesn't smell like roasted nuts but border line burnt smell the oil…the conventional oils that is….but i'm also reading that those having tried the boiled milk oil says it is burnt in smell like conventional oils but maybe people are burning the solids instead of removing them as soon as the turn gold maybe? can you again in terms of color and smell and properties the oil should be…
I never buy coconut oil from the shops so I don't know fully about it and I am very surprised that you are experiencing burning sensation after using coconut oil which is never the case! Pure coconut oil will be white in color and should have a fresh smell but most of the refined coconut oils look and smell good so it is very hard to identify pure coconut oil with appearance and smell alone. The best bet is to buy from a reputed source, here in my place you can buy pure coconut oil from small farm owners or if you want only a small amount try making the oil yourself using the method mentioned above…
Is this oil is gud for severe hair loss
This oil is pure and will condition and strengthen the hair if massaged regularly with it. Coupled with a good nutritious diet, it should arrest hair fall…
Hello,How to know wheather the water is totally evoporated?
The sizzling sound of the oil will stop when the water has fully evaporated…
Would like to ask you that can we use dry stick form of turmeric. N can I bath my little baby with soap after massage
Yes, you can use dry stick form of turmeric but mix it with a conditioner like yogurt when rubbing it into paste to prevent skin drying…
Hi Ramya its really an amazing site an i would appreciate all the wonderful work u've done. my problem is that i have a very weak hair causing consistent hair loss, 2 years ago i had strong hair and my hair used to grow up quickly. but now they don't grow as quickly as they were 2 years ago.i have read all the remedies and i'm a little confused to chose which one to try. i need your help suggesting me a useful and according remedy which makes my hair thicker and grow fast. waiting anxiously for the reply! Thanks!
I would suggest starting with weekly twice oil bath, you can find the recipe for it in the blog. Apply curry leaf hair oil regularly, also you can choose anyone of the homemade hair mask recipes from the blog (I would suggest egg and olive oil hair mask as it prevents breakage). All these external treatments will condition, strengthen and help your hair fast if used regularly…
Ramya,I read your suggestion to make coconut oil at home. I live in USA and I have done almost exactly as you say, except one step. After getting coconut milk, I leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Then I put it in blender and churn it like when we make butter. In a feew minutes, you will see the coco butter separate and surface. I gather the pieces into a ball to remove as much water as possible. Then you could basically heat it up to get pure oil just like ghee. There is no comparison to its flavor.
I totally agree there in no comparison to the flavor of homemade coconut oil…
Mixing Henna or Hibiscus or any other freshly made past with the coconut milk before putting it in refrigerator and then extract the oil from it.Will the resulting coconut butter/oil have the benefits of whatever the past that we added?Any comments?
The coconut oil extracted will be infused with the herb paste you are adding and will have all the benefits of the herb added. But since we are adding the fresh extract I am not sure about the shelf life of the oil…
Is this edible too? Can it be used for frying?
Yes, this homemade coconut oil is edible and can be used for cooking…
I read in some articles that oil got through heating (even in sunlight) will reduce the nutritional value. Both the methods that you specified here has a step to heat.I read in some articles that coconut oil extracted through fermentation is the actual virgin oil which involves no heating. Do you have any comments on extracting oil through fermentation.
It is true that coconut oil pressed without heat is the original virgin coconut oil and is the best. You can do virgin coconut oil at home by just allowing the coconut milk to ferment at room temperature overnight instead of heating thus allowing the oil to separate in the middle with water at the bottom and the cream on top. But since the amount of coconut oil got from the method is very very less, we traditionally use the sun drying method. If you are planning on making virgin coconut oil at home, I would suggest making a small batch first…
If you are not the DIY type of person and still want good coconut oil, look for organic cold-pressed virgin coconut oil. The best I have discovered in USA is Trader Joe brand. Most other brands including SWAD sell flavorless wax called organic coconut oil.
hi ramaiya , can i use coconut milk with aloe vera gel as a conditioner after wash my hair by reetha? thanks
hi Ramaiya ! can i use coconut milk and aloe vera gel as a conditioner after wash my hair by reetha. is it good for hair? or give me your advise . shampoo makes my hair dry thats why i don;tuse it. thanks
If you use coconut milk and Aloe Vera gel as a conditioner after shamppoing, it will make your hair sticky. I would suggest using rice water as a final hair rinse mixed with few drops of essential oil of your choice…
Hii Ramya akkaIam from Andhra Pradesh.Here we have oil mills but they buy the oil already done by them.i ask them I want the oil from the dried coconuts which I bring.they told me that oil will spoil with in 1month and buy the readily made by them. They told me that they have a secret process after milling the oil for not spoil .is this real or they convincing me to buy their oil.if there is aprocess after milling pls kindly give me the information.
I am very sorry for the late reply, somehow missed the question :(. Coconut oil made from fully dried coconut will not spoil easily, we have been making it for years together and it usually lasts for almost 2 years. The only additional ingredient added is jaggery, I would suggest taking the dried coconut to a different mill for grinding…
Though the question was for Ramya, I can answer your concerns. Yes, they are right, commercial oils have some ingredients that prevent spoiling. These checmicals cannot be good for you. If you can make small batches with your own coconuts at the nearby facility, that is ideal.
Hello Maam,Ur post was really helpful, I was really in need of help for my hair fall, I have few doubts like,Can we use Virgin Coconut oil for making other oils like Amla oil or Curry leaves oil or Bjringaraj Oil? Can we add these herbs or its juice while preparing this oil itself,along with Coconut milk or in between the process? Or should it be prepared separate ? Also can we mix Castor oil with Virgin Coconut oil while applying in scalp?
…i think it is good for hair loss and grow our hair quickly ..but once we stop this anything happen to our hair , how many dayz we use this or daily use
This coconut oil will not affect the hair in a negative way at all even if you stop using it. You can use it daily for months together without any side effects…
You wrote the coconut oil is extracted using a bit of jaggery I assume naatu sakarai?
Nalla Ennai is also done this way. However when having jaggery in both is it okay to put it in the hair and on the body and leave it on for the whole day? Or it should be washed out after 1/2 to an hour afterwards?
Or is the ones meant for hair and body will be without jaggery and that is only to be used if we are to leave it on without washing it out?
“I am very surprised that you are experiencing burning sensation after using coconut oil which is never the case! ” After a lot of enquiry I think the reason for this is because they are adding sulfur to the coconut oil as a preservative. Usually for chekku oil it lasts for few months especially. But it seems for many brands of coconut oil sulfur is added. It won’t say this on the bottle. Probably most don’t go through the elaborate process of really drying out the coconut naturally in the sun. Things don’t last long and were freshly made, regularly but this time and effort, so this is the trade off to get a long lasting product. Some preservative will be added without being stated. Some coconut oils will not be coconut oil they will be a clear “palm” oil with coconut scent added…the same oil is used to make sesame oil, peanut oil a variety of oils, just scent and coloring is added to create a difference.
hi,
does heat destroy fermented milk to obtain oil? thanks.