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Coconut butter

10 years ago

I recently heard coconut butter mentioned on the radio and I thought it was a substitute for real butter. After looking online I learned it is more like a spread, but not for cooking. I just read, "You can use it in cooking, but not to cook IN." Where can I buy some? Is it on a shelf or refrigerated? It would be great if Wegman's carried it because I am nowhere near a Whole Foods.

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Comments (2)

grainlady_ks
10 years ago
I'd suggest making our own. Just as you take peanuts and grind them in a food processor or high-speed blender to make peanut butter, you take unsweetened coconut and do the same thing to make coconut butter. Yummy stuff.....

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: 10 Tips for Making the Best Coconut Butter Ever
grainlady_ks
10 years ago
More information now that I have more time....

1. Just as coconut and coconut oil is shelf-stable, coconut butter (both commercial brands and home-made) is shelf-stable. If you refrigerate it you will need to bring it to room temperature to use it anyway, so I keep it at room temperature. It's much grittier than dairy butter.

2. Coconut butter is also called coconut manna (Nutiva brand) and coconut cream concentrate (Tropical Traditions).

3. Coconut butter gets a little softer the warmer the ambient temperature, and harder the colder it is, just like coconut oil.

4. The oil from the coconut will tend to rise to the top during storage.

5. Melt coconut butter and use it as a topping for fresh fruit, baked sweet potato or squash. I grilled fresh pineapple rings over the weekend and topped it with cinnamon coconut butter when I served it, so you can make it different flavors.

6. In some cases you can use it as a substitute for dairy butter. There are all kinds of recipes you can use it in. These are a few in my file I've gleaned on-line and from some books I have:
-Chocolate Coconut Pudding
-Coconut Butter Chocolate Fudge
-Dairy-Free Pumpkin Fudge
-Peppermint Patties
-Hot Chocolate On-A-Stick
-Pina Colada Sorbet
-Candy
-Chocolate Coconut Butter (a spread)
-Gluten-Free Coconut Butter Sandwich Bread
-Almond Coconut Butter (a spread)

7. If you crave sweets, eat 1-2 t. of coconut butter instead of reaching for a high-carb, high-sugar snack.

8. Add to cooked pudding, hot beverages, oatmeal or other cooked cereal, smoothies, granola.....

9. Use it to make frosting.
1. It makes a great mid-day energy booster.
You'll find coconut butter being used in Paleo recipes and folks on the GAPS diet (Gut & Psychology Syndrome ).

-Grainlady
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Melbar - that is how coconut oil is supposed to be. Unlike other oils like olive, corn etc., coconut oil is almost 60-70% medium chain fatty acid. This means that the fats in the oil naturally crystallize and are solid until about 76degrees. When it is 76 degrees, the oil will become liquid. This also means that the oil does not get rancid easily at room temperature and it's smoke point is high. It is the preferred oil for cooking and frying in many parts of Asia as well. To use it just scoop a bit with your fingers and rub between our hands. Your body heat will immediately melt it. I apply a bit to my daughter's scalp and hair as a leave in conditioner. If you blend it etc., you are incorporating air into the mixture and it will likely turn rancid faster. You can refrigerate it as well. Lalitha
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I finally made a cake with the Meyer Lemons that fell from my tree. Grainlady, I thought I had coconut oil but I didn't. I looked where I normally shop and wasn't happy with what they had so I wound up using the quick lemon cake recipe that Shambo posted and my lightest, virtually flavorless, olive oil. I still think that the slight coconut flavor of coconut oil with the lemon would be great and I have put it on my phone shopping list. The spicy lime mayo you posted is definitely something we would love and I just looked at their website and one of my local supermarkets sells it, so it's on the list too. Thanks for your help. Sherrmann, coconut oil has been controversial, but from all the reading I've done, I feel it is healthy. We all have to make our own decisions on lots of foods and I will be quick to admit that I often feel there is conflicting research on all sorts of foods. I love butter too, but since my very serious heart surgery I have to be careful about how much I use. Coconut oil has no cholesterol and no sodium and butter is very high in cholesterol. I certainly do eat some butter, but it's in my best interest to limit it which is why my original question was to ask what to substitute for some of the butter. I'm sure this recipe would be fabulously wonderful with the original amount of butter. Lee
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Not all coconut oil products taste like coconut. LouAna brand (I get it at Wal-Mart and Dillons - a Kroger-associated store) doesn't have any coconut flavor. The Grain & Salt Society sold a brand (they called it Coconut BUTTER, and then had to change it to oil) that didn't taste like coconut (it was the first brand I ever tried). Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil and NOW MCT Oil is also tasteless, so a good choice for salad dressing, which is one of the more difficult things to make with regular coconut oil because it solidifies so easily. But don't discount the flavor of coconut oil that does have a mild coconut flavor. It's my "secret" ingredient in brownies, without being over-powering, and works well with cocoa/chocolate. It's also a good choice in other baked goods and power/protein bars. I mix coconut oil with raw honey and use it as a spread like you would use honey-butter. Coconut oil by itself is used by vegans for a bread-spread instead of butter and margarine. Coconut oil aids in homemade breads keeping fresh a little longer than those made with butter or shortening. I found homemade bread made with coconut oil AND chia seeds stayed fresh for at least a week - soft enough to be used for a peanut butter sandwich after a week. Coconut oil has a long history in food and was commonly used in commercial baked goods pre-1960's because the commercial foods had a longer shelf-life when made with coconut oil. I often find recipes in older books calling for copra oil, which is coconut oil. If was often added to frosting in order to help it "set" in cool temperatures. Coconut oil was used for popping corn at stadiums because they could pop huge amounts ahead of time and the coconut oil kept it "fresh". Just stay clear of partially-hydrogenated or hydrogenated coconut oil. This process damages the oil and it doesn't have the same healthful effects on the body as unrefined coconut oil. -Grainlady
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