Coconut oil comes from coconuts and it is known for its many amazing benefits. In this post, we take a look at the numerous benefits and how you can make coconut oil.
But first, let’s take a look at how the oil is obtained.
Typically, coconut oil comes from aged coconuts that grow on the coconut palm tree. The trees are found in the tropics where coconut oil has long been used for health and wellbeing.
How to Make Coconut Oil: Step by Step Guide
Coconut oil is a clear liquid that solidifies into a white creamy texture at conditions below room temperature.
The oil has antimicrobial, antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral and anti-parasitic properties. It is quite soothing to the entire GI tract and does not upset healthy gut flora. Also, coconut oil doesn’t elevate cholesterol, in fact, it can lower your blood cholesterol level.
It also stimulates thyroid function and normalizes blood sugar levels. Beauty experts often include it in moisturizers because of its ability to nourish and rejuvenate the skin. The oil prevents scarring and can soothe sunburns and/or dry itchy skin and skin conditions such as psoriasis
If you love making homemade products with natural ingredients, coconut oil can be used to make homemade toothpaste, mosquito repellents, lip balm, lotions, and good moisturizer for sensitive skin.
Now that you know the importance of coconut oil, let’s take a look at the steps involved in making the oil.
Step 1: Collect coconuts
You can search around and collect a few fallen coconuts. You will need to get some big stones or rocks to remove the husk.
Step 2: Husk the coconuts
The first step in husking is to remove the cap from the coconut. This can be done by lightly tapping the cap on the rock. Then use the rock with both hands and hit hard on top of the coconut. After a while, you will find cracks on the sides and the husk gets loosened. You can now remove the loosened husk from the nuts.
Step 3: Crack open the coconuts
You can use a clean turtle shell to crack open the coconuts. This is done by holding the husked coconut in your palm and lightly tapping on the edge of a rock in a circular motion until the coconut cracks open.
Step 4: Remove and collect coconut meat
You can remove the coconut meat with a knife or any sharp metal object. You can use an old broken spoon for this. You can also scrap out the flesh from the nuts or remove chunks with the sharp end of the broken spoon. All you need to do is to insert and twist the broken end to take out the chunks.
Step 5: Grate the coconut meat
You can use a stone to grate the coconut meat. Place the chunks of coconut meat in the container and pound with the stone to grate them.
Step 6: Extract coconut milk
The next step is to extract coconut milk from the crushed meat. You can add some water to the grated coconut and mix well. Squeeze out the milk from the mix. You can use your hand or a piece of cloth to filter out the milk from the mix. Do it two more times to extract more milk from the leftover.
Step 7: Make a fireplace
Look for a place to make fire and lay two stones perpendicular to each other so that it will have enough space in between. Then check by placing the milk filled utensil over the stones.
Step 8: Boil the coconut milk
Collect the dried branches or dried coconut leaves and make fire. Keep the milk-filled utensil over the fire. The coconut milk may boil up. You can use a wooden stick or a piece of bamboo to stir the milk while boiling. Continue until all the water gets evaporated from the mix. This may take some time because all the water needs to be evaporated. Once you see the oil bubbling on the surface of the heated milk, remove from the fire and let the oily milk to cool down.
Step 9: Extract the oil from the boiled coconut milk
After the mixture is sufficiently cooled down, separate the oil from the mix by using a small piece of cloth, the size of a handkerchief for this. Then lay the piece of cloth flat over the heated mix and lightly press with your fingers. You will see that the cloth is absorbing oil from the mix. Next, remove the piece of cloth and fold it keeping the side facing-up out then squeeze the oil from the cloth into another container or an empty coconut shell. You’d notice that the oil still contains lots of coconut flesh.
Step 10: Separate the pure oil
Keep the oil still to settle down but you will notice that after a few minutes the pure coconut oil is floating upward. Once you notice this, tilt the container and slowly drain out the oil into another container. You have your pure coconut oil which you can use for your hair, on your body and also for cooking.
You can also buy the canned coconut milk from the stores and extract the oil from the milk. We have highlighted the steps below:
- Place the coconut milk in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 5 hours. After refrigeration, you will notice that the coconut cream (the whitish/cream colored layer) had separated from the water and has also solidified.
- Gently scoop out the solidified coconut cream and place it in a clean saucepan or pot.
- Heat up the coconut cream, on low heat and stir constantly until it starts to bubble at the top and a clear oil begin to show.
- Continue to simmer on low until the remnant in the saucepan darkens in color and reduces in size.
- Gently scoop out the coconut oil and pour into a sterilized wide mouth jar or bottle. You shouldn’t cover it until it cools completely so that it will go rancid quickly.