Essence Of Eden Coconut Oil Review

I never really equated coconut oil with the likes of olive oil but Essence of Eden Organic Extra Virgin coconut oil, carries the same 'extra virgin' label but has more of an extensive range of uses than extra virgin olive oil.

In fact the oil is probably extracted pretty much the same as it is when making extra virgin olive oil.

In simple terms, any recipe that requires butter, oil or margarine - just swap that ingredient for coconut oil.

So I now use Essence of Eden Extra Virgin Coconut Oil for baking, frying, grilling and roasting.

I have to admit to spreading it on toast too and as an extra treat I add peanut butter (another one of my vices) and I highly recommend coconut oil and peanut butter on toast - with a cheeky dollop of coconut oil straight off the spoon!.

The jar itself looks like a white ointment but as soon as you pop open the lid you get that fantastic fresh smell of coconuts.

Use a spoon to carve out a measure and it will quickly go to a clear oil when warm.

There is no doubt as to the delicious fresh light coconut-creamy taste yet it isn't over powering.

To make virgin coconut, the oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat , the coconut is not dried out first.

Most of us had sipped the "Coconut milk", that thin fluid that sploshes about inside the coconut.

This is expressed first by pressing it out of the wet coconut meat, just like fruit juices are traditionally extracted. The oil within the fluids is then further separated.

One of my favourite quick and easy recipes for a delicious smoothie to start the day is a type of tropical flavour and uses most of the things that you have in the cupboard. There is a little preparation such as freeing a couple of bananas the night before.

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1/2 cup porridge oat flakes
• 1 cup milk (less makes it thicker, more milk makes it thinner)
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, (melt first so it is liquid)
• pinch cinnamon more or less to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or essence
• 1 cup spinach (if you want to add some extra iron)
  
  Now for the magic ...just put all those ingredients in your blender in no specific order and blend the lot until it is nice and smooth. There is enough there for 2 glasses to drink immediately.

Because I really love the flavour of coconut, I tended to use my Essence of Eden Extra Virgin for almost everything I ate from a salad dressing to my roast potatoes and I even brushed it on fish prior to grilling.

The downside was that I think I was overdoing it and really wanted to enjoy it, rather than having everything I ate tasting of coconut so I experimented with the measures and found that I could reduce the actual quantity of coconut oil in recipes and still gain really good quality and very tasty results.

I was surprised to find loads of recipes for coconut oil online, some simply replay vegetable oils and butter, margarine etc with coconut oil and others use it to enhance other flavours like peanut butter and coconut oil on toast.

The more I got into coconut oil, the more I discovered that there are varying grades. The most important being ORGANIC Premium Virgin coconut oil.

I avoid cold pressed, a type called expeller pressed or even refined, although it sounds like an improvement it isn't.

There are also bleached and deodorised oil, but to me, if you take away the aroma of coconuts, there is no point if having coconut oil.

What I like about Essence Of Eden Premium Virgin coconut oil is it really does taste and smell of fresh coconuts.

I have a secret hiding place for my Essence Of Eden coconut oil because it can be used a a skin moisturiser, and hair conditioner.

My partner discovered that It is highly recommended for use in aromatherapy and massage, as well as being an excellent carrier oil, it took me a while to work out why the fresh smell of coconut was lingering - not a bad thing at all, except it was MY own private supply being used!.

In summary, for what was a gift in a hamper, I am more than delighted with Essence of Eden Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and will keep experimenting with different uses. It is not expensive at all and goes a long, long way - great value for money!