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  1. #1
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    More food opinion wanted: Butter vs Coconut oil

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    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?

  2. #2
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    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.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
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    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.

  4. #4
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    Apr 2009
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    Yes.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Catrin View Post
    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.).
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  6. #6
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    Nov 2009
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    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...
    Last edited by Catrin; 03-08-2013 at 08:51 AM.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Catrin View Post
    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! ;-)
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  8. #8
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    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by GLC1968 View Post
    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.
    Last edited by OakLeaf; 03-08-2013 at 09:56 AM.
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
    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!
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  10. #10
    Jolt is offline Dodging the potholes...
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    Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
    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?
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jolt View Post
    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?
    Why people (in northern, Western societies, anyway) used to use butter, lard and bacon fat. I suppose you might be able to get walnut oil, but...

    If you live in warmer climes, it's much easier.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jolt View Post
    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?

    But that's the flavor difference between fresh homemade mayo vs. the jar stuff. And we're talking maybe once every two or three years, and maybe a couple of tablespoons left over from the recipe. I wouldn't touch the jar stuff plain, either.



    And, what Owlie said about fats. The geographic lines between where people traditionally used vegetable fats vs. animal fats are pretty sharp, I'm told.

    Canola, grape and hemp are oilseeds with a reasonably high smoke point, that grow in temperate climates, and they're available organic.

    I'm not saying I'm being consistent or rational with my established habits , just that I don't want to adopt any NEW habits that are inconsistent with my values.
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    I use butter (Kerry Gold grass fed) and coconut oil all the time. I actually use both in my morning coffee (one tbs of each, pour coffee on and mix in a Magic Bullet to foam up). Yum.
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by murielalex View Post
    I use butter (Kerry Gold grass fed) and coconut oil all the time. I actually use both in my morning coffee (one tbs of each, pour coffee on and mix in a Magic Bullet to foam up). Yum.
    I use Kerrygold as well - it might come from Ireland but I can afford it and it makes good ghee I've tried bulletproof coffee but didn't really care for it. I also used the fat saved from my fresh side "bacon", sometimes for eggs and for certain sauteed veggies.

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    My favorite "crazy" doctor at nutritionfacts.org did a video recently on coconut oil (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/does...clog-arteries/ -- also search for coconut oil if you want more info). The conclusion was "moderation" on this one -- seems to have some benefit, but it may also have cholestorol issues.

    That said, DH has been using coconut oil as a butter substitute for some recipes. We lean vegan and we've been trying to vegan-ize our recipe box. Canola oil works for cookies, but not always. Coconut oil has expanded our set of recipes that have become 100% vegan. That said, unlike the canola oil substitution recipes, we try to limit the coconut oil recipes.
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