Benefits of Cooking w/ Coconut Oil

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If you’re one to keep up with food trends then you’ve probably heard about coconut oil. This buzzed about product has swept your local food stores and can be used for ton of things from hair treatments to face moisturizer. The benefits of coconut oil are abundant and today we’re going to talk about cooking with it and why you should opt for this over olive oil.

But wait, what happened to olive oil? The main difference between olive oil and coconut oil is their fat content. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat: the components of unsaturated fats. Coconut oil contains saturated fats instead. The difference in fat content affects how the oil cooks and how the body processes it, therefore some methods are better.

When cooking with coconut oil it is important to keep the smoke point in mind. I like to use Nutiva Coconut Oil to fry my eggs in the morning instead of olive oil for the taste. After heating up the oil, I turn the heat down a bit to avoid the oil smoking and the smell is transcendent. For higher heat recipes like scrambled eggs, use refined coconut oil and not virgin coconut oil.

The health benefits of coconut oil really kick in as a substitute for butter. Instead of adding a tablespoon of butter to roast your vegetables, try a tablespoon of coconut oil! Toss the vegetables, then sauté or roast until crispy and caramelized.

Happy cooking!