Coconut Oil?

[nstewart]

I've heard how healthy coconut oil can be, so I picked some Organic coconut oil up last night.

Now, what should I do with it?  Just use it to replace olive oil or canola oil when cooking?  Does it have a strong flavor? 

What do you all do with your coconut oil, if you use it?

[artekah]

You can use it for baking in place of any other oil or fat. In the frying pan for pancakes or eggs. Spread on toast in place of butter.

For body care--as skin lotion, hair oil, for washing your face, even as a chemical-free lube.

ETA: it does have a slight coconut flavor, but you can get a kind that is flavorless (refined or unrefined--one has more coconut flavor than the other.)

[cristeen]

Coconut oil is stable at high heat, so it can be used in places where less stable fats (like olive oil) shouldn't be used.  Deep frying, pan frying, stir frying, sauteeing.  It's also solid at "room temperature", so can be used in place of shortening or butter in recipes like biscuits or cakes. 

Honestly, other than something like salad dressing, coconut oil can replace just about every other oil in your kitchen, whether you're cooking with it, baking with it or even just seasoning your pans with it. 

Unrefined CO does have a bit of a coconutty flavor to it, but in most brands it's very mild, and I've never been able to notice it even if I'm just cooking eggs.  If you object to it, you can get refined CO, which has no flavor. 

I mix it with lard for deep frying (it's too expensive to use on it's own for deep frying), drop a big spoonful into a pot of oatmeal instead of butter, cook pancakes with it, etc.  I keep olive oil on hand just for salad dressings and cold applications, butter for those things I want to taste butter, and use CO for just about everything else. 

[rainface]

I use CO to saute and pan fry. I think chicken is good in CO, also in pilaf, rice, couscous etc.

I also use it as diaper cream for the baby. 

[SundayCrepes]

I have used two brands of coconut oil in baking--nutiva and trader joe's. I don't like it, the flavor is too strong. I have had it in chocolate cake. Man, that was really good. I ate way too much of it.

I used to put coconut milk in my kids' morning smoothies, but because canned milk has BPA, I decided to use coconut oil from a jar instead. Because it will solidify, and lump, in a smoothie, I start by blending a fresh banana, a spoon of coconut oil, and some almond milk. Once that's smooth I add the rest of the ingredients and there aren't any lumps.