More food opinion wanted: Butter vs Coconut oil

[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! ;-)

[OakLeaf]

It's bad enough that I have to make my own mayo! ;-)

Oh heck, it's been decades since I've been able to justify buying pre-made mayo. I have a choice between using however much I need for whatever recipe and letting the rest of the jar sit in the fridge until it spoils, or just making the smallest amount I can with the smallest pastured egg in my fridge and eating any leftovers with a spoon. It's just too easy and quick to bother with storebought.

I've honestly never cooked with coconut oil, and since I'm trying to eat way more local, I probably won't start ... yep I still use plenty olive oil, but I just can't see starting to use something new from an exotic source, that isn't already part of my habits. The grass-fed butter I get isn't completely local, but it's from within 150 miles or so.

[GLC1968]

Oh heck, it's been decades since I've been able to justify buying pre-made mayo. I have a choice between using whatever I need it for and letting the rest of the jar sit in the fridge until it spoils, or just making the smallest amount I can with the smallest pastured egg in my fridge and eating any leftovers with a spoon. It's just too easy and quick to bother with storebought.

Oh, I agree, it's easy. I just don't much like mayo so it seems like such a waste for me! I make it so my husband has a healthy option and so that I can have the occasional tuna or chicken salad.

Overall, I'm super lazy when it comes to cooking. If there is a shortcut, I'll take it. I don't much like to cook but I do it because that way I can control what we eat. If I could afford a personal chef, I'd hire one in a heartbeat!

[Jolt]

Oh heck, it's been decades since I've been able to justify buying pre-made mayo. I have a choice between using however much I need for whatever recipe and letting the rest of the jar sit in the fridge until it spoils, or just making the smallest amount I can with the smallest pastured egg in my fridge and eating any leftovers with a spoon. It's just too easy and quick to bother with storebought.

I've honestly never cooked with coconut oil, and since I'm trying to eat way more local, I probably won't start ... yep I still use plenty olive oil, but I just can't see starting to use something new from an exotic source, that isn't already part of my habits. The grass-fed butter I get isn't completely local, but it's from within 150 miles or so.

Eating mayo with a spoon...ICK!! (then again, I think the stuff is icky in general so maybe I'm not the best one to comment...) As for the coconut oil and being non-local, I hear you--but then, what kinds of oils CAN one get locally?

[Catrin]

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! ;-)

Mayo is easy to make, once you figure out that all ingredients must be room temp. For me the biggest challenge was figuring out which oil I prefer - hazelnut is my preference though I will use avocado. Any kind of olive oil is too strongly flavored for my taste.

This morning I experimented with some smoked pork jowl from a local farmer in place of my fresh side for bacon. It is only smoked, no added chemicals or preservatives, no sugar, etc. It was very nice! I will still likely use fresh side most of the time as that is several dollars less a pound than the smoked jowl - but it is nice to have access to it. The farm is also just down the street from me so I can go see how the animals are treated/fed. I've found that when I use local farmers for meat sources my meat budget decreases significantly - I just can't afford the grass-fed/pastured prices at a regular store. It takes more foot-work and gas but it is well worth it.

I do find it interesting that some food chains are now advertising how their chicken is antibiotic free. What they are not saying is that it is illegal in the US to use antibiotics for chicken outside of an actual illness, they don't say a word about their non-chicken protein sources. The commercials make it sound like they are doing something special but they are not.

[Blueberry]

Could someone share a mayo recipe? I tried one last night, and it didn't work *at all.* I have a couple of ideas as to what caused the issue - but would still like to try a tested recipe next (thankfully, I really don't eat mayo much).