More food opinion wanted: Butter vs Coconut oil

[roadie gal]

Coconut oil seems to be the new "in" food. I've been thinking about using it as a substitute for butter or sometimes olive oil when I cook. I LOVE butter and go through a lot of it. So it seems like a good plan to try something different sometimes.

Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but there is an argument that it's a different saturated fat because of the kinds of fats in it. There are websites that go on about it's anticancer, anti-arthritis, weight loss, etc. properties. I've looked at the pros and cons and have no idea. Opinions?

[Crankin]

I think coconut oil has more of the properties of a saturated fat like olive oil, as in the "good" fat. I hardly use butter, except when baking (rare thing), and was cooking almost exclusively with olive oil. I started using coconut oil about 4 months ago, and I would say that I am now using it 85% of the time. I have stopped using margarine, even though I use the kind made with yogurt. I still have it in the house, but I think I am going to quit buying it. DH uses butter to cook his eggs, so that is staying.
The coconut oil I use for cooking has no taste, so it works much better than olive oil for a lot of recipes. I guess the proof will be in my cholesterol readings later in the spring.

[Catrin]

I love using coconut oil and prefer it for cooking over pretty much anything else other than butter. I do like butter, but prefer to use Ghee - which I typically just make for myself rather than buying it. I do use grass-fed butter to make Ghee or clarified butter (the dairy solids are removed in the process). I've found that my body does better without dairy. Personally, I use far more saturated fats than I once did and my cholesterol numbers are excellent - far better than when I was on a traditional low-fat diet. I am careful about my fat sources however, which I do think makes a difference in many different ways. I've relegated olive oil to salad dressings, and I use either hazelnut or avocado oil to make mayo.

[Owlie]

Yes.

[GLC1968]

I love using coconut oil and prefer it for cooking over pretty much anything else other than butter. I do like butter, but prefer to use Ghee - which I typically just make for myself rather than buying it. I do use grass-fed butter to make Ghee or clarified butter (the dairy solids are removed in the process). I've found that my body does better without dairy. Personally, I use far more saturated fats than I once did and my cholesterol numbers are excellent - far better than when I was on a traditional low-fat diet. I am careful about my fat sources however, which I do think makes a difference in many different ways. I've relegated olive oil to salad dressings, and I use either hazelnut or avocado oil to make mayo.

Ditto this.

One more benefit to coconut oil is that it has a higher smoke point than olive oil and therefore it can handle higher heats before breaking down. Ghee or clarified butter handles heat well, too. So do animal fats from well-sourced animals. Vegetable/fruit oils, seed oils and nut oils do not...so they are best for recipes that are not cooked (like salads) or for low temp things (like using a crock pot or something).

I actually do a ton of stove top cooking in my special bacon fat. I save the fat from sugar free, nitrite free bacon that comes from humanely raised, pastured pigs and use that for cooking all the time. My cholesterol numbers are outstanding.

If you want the flavorless coconut oil, you want the refined version. Unrefined is going to taste a lot more like coconut (which is a plus for some recipes but a huge, huge minus for others - like eggs. Ick.).

[Catrin]

Yes GLC, I was trying to decide how much detail to go into I am odd however, I LOVE using unrefined coconut oil with eggs. I actually don't taste the coconut when I use it for cooking - only if I taste it by itself...guess I have odd taste-buds! There are a few brands of coconut oil out there that has ingredients other than coconut oil - avoid those

The "bacon" I use is actually just fresh side pork from pastured pigs - it is the only affordable access I have to BOTH nitrate AND sugar free bacon from a local butcher. I love the Black Forest nitrate free bacon at Whole Foods but it has other stuff that I would rather not eat... I cook it slowly with salt and pepper, or I bake it with salt and pepper - by the time I am done with the fresh side it makes some pretty yummy bacon. That is the cut that bacon comes from anyway...

[GLC1968]

The "bacon" I use is actually just fresh side pork from pastured pigs - it is the only affordable access I have to BOTH nitrate AND sugar free bacon from a local butcher. I love the Black Forest nitrate free bacon at Whole Foods but it has other stuff that I would rather not eat... I cook it slowly with salt and pepper, or I bake it with salt and pepper - by the time I am done with the fresh side it makes some pretty yummy bacon. That is the cut that bacon comes from anyway...

I am so not that adventurous. I admit it. I'd rather pay too much for bacon from US Wellness meats than cook my own. It's bad enough that I have to make my own mayo! ;-)

[Catrin]

I use an immersion (stick) blender to make mayo. It's ridiculous how simple it is. I don't even have to stream the oil- just dump it all in and pulse for maybe 30 seconds.

Catrin, have you ever tried roasted walnut oil for mayo? I just picked up some (along with some avocado oil), and I'm looking for fun ways to use them.

Ive made it with regular walnut oil which was pretty good. I prefer either hazelnut or avocado but I wouldnt hesitate to use walnut if that is what I had on hand. I bet roasted walnut oil would be yummy!

[GLC1968]

I used to use a food processor (and I've used a blender once, too). The immersion/stick blender method truly rules...hands down. In fact, you don't even need to have the stuff at room temp!

Just dump 1 egg, 3/4 cup light tasting oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp mustard powder and 1 T lemon juice in the jar. Stick the blender in it and rest it on the bottom of the container, pulse with about 5 seconds between pulses until you get mayo, keeping it at the bottom. Near the end, you'll have to mix it up a little while pulsing to incorporate the last of the oil. Because the oil floats above all the other ingredients, it incorporates slowly enough to get the emulsion without any drizzling necessary!

It all takes less than a couple of minutes. If you mix it in a ball jar, you can also store it there too so less cleanup.

Today I have homemade mayo tuna salad over mixed greens for lunch. Yum!

[Chile Pepper]

I do mayo both ways. By hand, I just use the yolks. In the blender, I use a whole egg or a whole egg plus one yolk. I'll use either lemon juice or wine vinegar (1 tablespoon of either), a dollop of Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. If it's in the blender, I'll add a green onion and sometimes garlic, depending on how I'm using it. I blend that first, then start drizzling in the oil--I usually use half olive oil and half safflower oil. By hand, you need to start with just drops at a time, but in the blender you can leave the motor running and add the oil in a slow stream. I have never bothered bringing the ingredients to room temperature, and the mayo thickens every time.

[Catrin]

The immersion blender method sounds like fun, I will try that if I ever break down and get one. Chile Pepper, never thought about using wine vinegar in it, I will try that next time I am out of fresh lemons. For whatever reason, the emulsification has never worked for me when the egg wasn't room temp...

[Anelia]

Both can be combined in this recipe for Bulletproof coffee. This morning I made a cup of bulletproof coffee but only with butter (no coconut oil at home) and it tasted wonderful!