Query:

I went to the health food store to buy coconut oil, but all the brands they carry were solid. None were liquefied. Is this how it is always sold? Can you eat it solid? Does it matter?

Answer:

One of the characteristics of coconut oil is its high melting point. At temperatures above 24C coconut oil is a liquid. At temperatures below this it becomes a solid. So, the oil will be either liquid or solid depending on the temperature of the room. There is nothing wrong or unusual about this. Butter, for instance, does the same thing. In the refrigerator it is solid, but take it out on a hot day and let it sit on the counter, and it melts. If you refrigerate olive oil it becomes solid as well, but out of the refrigerator it is liquid.

Sometimes you will see two bottles of coconut oil side by side and one will be solid, while the other is liquid. The reason for this is that it takes several hours for the oil to adjust to the room temperature. If the room is below 24C then the liquid bottle came from a warmer environment before it was placed next to the solid bottle. Oil can hold on to heat for a long time, so it may take several hours for the oil in the bottle to solidify. If the room temperature is in the mid or low 20s it may take 24 hours or more for the oil to solidify.

Critics who try to discredit coconut oil claiming it to be an ‘artery clogging’ saturated fat will often justify their position by pointing out the fact that coconut is solid at room temperature. They say when you eat the oil it will solidify in your arteries and cause a heart attack. This idea is totally preposterous. For one thing, our body temperature is 37C. Coconut oil is a complete liquid at that temperature. And, coconut oil does not circulate inside the arteries after you eat it. Coconut oil, like any other fat or oil, is digested and broken down into individual fatty acids in the digestive tract. The fatty acids from coconut oil are used by the cells in the body as food to produce energy. There is no way they could clog the arteries.

Like butter, you can eat coconut oil whether it is liquid or solid. There is no difference in nutritional value or chemical makeup. You don’t need to liquefy the oil before you use it. Solid coconut oil melts very quickly when put in a hot pan.

If your kitchen is kept under 24C coconut oil will always be solid. On a hot day it may melt. You can keep it in the refrigerator if you like. However, it isn’t necessary. Coconut oil does not need to be refrigerated. It is very stable and has a long shelf life so it can be kept on the kitchen counter or in a cupboard. You may use Hippocrates Pure Food-Grade Coconut Oil for any purpose: cooking, moisturising skin, massage, etc.

Hippocrates Pure Food-Grade Coconut Oil is: Extra Virgin Organic Cold-Pressed Unrefined Unbleached Unhydrogenated Undeodorised

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