Good to Know

REFINED AND UNREFINED COCONUT OIL

Unrefined virgin coconut oil is made from fresh mature coconuts and captures in the freshness and nutrients of the fruit. 

Refined coconut oil is made from copra (old dried pieces of coconut) that needs to go through a manufacturing process including bleaching and deodorizing in order to make it suitable and palatable for human consumption.
  
Refined odourless coconut oil has no taste and nutrient value except for the remaining fatty acids.

 

VIRGIN AND EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

Although often misused in marketing and labelling, there is a definite difference between virgin and extra virgin coconut oil.
 
There is no heat applied in the extraction process of extra virgin coconut oil and is done by a centrifuging process. 

Low heat is applied during the extraction of virgin coconut oil by the expeller pressing process.

 

WHAT IS "COLD PRESSED"?

Unrefined virgin coconut oil is processed in two ways:

1. Centrifuge  
2. Expeller pressed (also referred to as cold-pressed)  

As the name suggests, centrifuge is the process of spinning the shredded coconuts to separate the oil from the coconut. 

This process yields less oil than other processes so results in a more expensive product. The oil derived through the centrifuge process has a sweeter taste due to the fact that the coconut is not dried before processing.
  
Expeller pressed coconuts are shredded and dehydrated at various temperatures before pressing; the higher the temperature the stronger the coconut flavour. 

The dehydrated coconut is then pressed to extract the oil. To be classed as virgin oil, the temperatures applied must be at a low heat.

 

WHAT IS COCONUT BUTTER?

Coconut butter is a semi-solid unsweetened paste made from grounded dehydrated coconut flakes. 

Coconut butter is also known as creamed coconut and not to be confused with coconut cream, which is the thicker and richer form of coconut milk. 

In colder temperatures, coconut butter becomes hard and needs to be cut into smaller pieces or melted before use. 

Kapruka’s creamed coconut comes in easy-to-use 25g sachets.

 

COCONUT WATER AND KING COCONUT WATER

Coconut water is mostly extracted from the young green coconut. The green coconut is the same fruit used to produce coconut oil, milk, cream etc. when mature.  

The water is extracted when the coconut is young as it lessons as it is used 
in the maturing process. 

King Coconuts are different; they do not use their water in their maturing process, and are used only for their water. It does not impact on the supply needed to make other coconut products. Indigenous to Sri Lanka, the King Coconut provides us with naturally sweet, rehydrating coconut water.

 

COCONUT MILK AND COCONUT CREAM

The difference lies in the fat content. Coconut milk has a lower fat content and is often used in cooking where less fat is required. 

Coconut cream contains less water and has a higher fat content; making it ideal for creamier, richer dishes.
  
Kapruka’s coconut milk has 17% fat content, while our coconut cream has 22% fat.