Ingredient

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is unusual among plant oils in being solid at ordinary room temperature, which is why it comes in a jar rather than a bottle. It also comes in two forms — virgin, which tastes strongly of coconut, and refined, which tastes of almost nothing — and recipes rarely say which they mean.

Why it is solid

Coconut oil is unusually high in saturated fat, and saturated fat molecules pack together neatly and set at higher temperatures than unsaturated ones. Coconut oil melts somewhere around the temperature of a warm room, which is why the same jar is a hard white block in winter and a clear liquid in summer.

This is a genuine culinary property rather than a curiosity. It means coconut oil behaves like a solid fat — it can be rubbed into flour, creamed, and used to set a coating — which no other common plant oil can do.

It also means it will set hard on a cold plate, which is why a coconut-oil dressing seizes on a chilled salad and a coconut-oil chocolate coating snaps.

Virgin against refined

Virgin / extra virgin

Pressed from fresh coconut flesh. Tastes and smells strongly of coconut. For dishes where that is wanted.

Refined

Pressed from dried copra, then refined. Neutral in flavour and smell. Handles heat better and is the general-purpose choice.

Which for curries

It depends on the tradition. South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking often wants the coconut flavour; refined is safer where you do not want it.

Fractionated / MCT oil

A processed fraction that stays liquid. A supplement product rather than a cooking fat.

Keeping

Very stable because of the saturated fat. It keeps far longer than most oils without going rancid.

Where it genuinely works

• South and Southeast Asian cooking, particularly Keralan, Sri Lankan, Thai and Malay, where it is the traditional fat and the flavour belongs.
• Frying spices at the start of a curry, where it is stable and its flavour suits the dish.
• Chocolate coatings and freezer desserts, where its setting behaviour is the point.
• Vegan baking, as a butter substitute in pastry and shortbread, where a solid fat is structurally required.
• Popcorn, where the flavour is a genuine improvement.
• Toasting or frying coconut-based dishes, where the flavour reinforces.
• Not as a general substitute for olive or rapeseed oil. It sets on cooling and tastes of coconut unless refined, and both matter.

Using it without difficulty

1. Measure it melted or solid according to the recipe, and be aware which. A tablespoon of solid and a tablespoon of melted are not the same quantity.
2. To melt, stand the jar in warm water or spoon what you need into the pan. Microwaving the jar unevenly is a good way to overheat part of it.
3. For pastry, keep it cold and firm and rub it in like butter. It is harder than cold butter and worth grating.
4. For a dressing, use it only on food at room temperature or warmer, or it will set into flecks.
5. When creaming it with sugar for a cake, it needs to be soft but not liquid — the same state as butter at room temperature.
6. Do not be alarmed by it setting solid in the jar. That is what it does.

Common questions