Coconut Oil...Not Getting the Taste Sensation
(52 posts) (26 voices)-
pauleygirl
MemberI hope this post is not a waste of anyone's time, but I looked under the coconut tag and coconut oul tags and could not find anything in the forum about it directly.
I am sure I have read in some posts that some of you eat the coconut oil with a spoon. I tried it. It is nasty. I have also read somewhere in a post some of you stating that it tastes good. I want it to be good. It just tastes like stick to your tongue, greasy oil to me-nothing that I think I could get use to eating with a spoon. Am I buying the wrong thing? Is it a taste I will acquire after becomming more primal? If I force it down my throat each day to obtain a significant portion of the fat I take in, how much should I swallow? (YUCK!) I am 5'2''. I weight 185. I am eating mostly meat, very occassional veggies, and filling the rest of my diet with fats in the form of nuts and seeds and hopefully coconut oil. I really want simplicity (not a lot of cooking), because I find I am not usually hungry and when I am I just want to grab and go or fry a quick piece of meat and be done.
I tried to make candy with it that I found on site and it was waxy and (go figure) oily-hehe. I want to do this coconut oil thing. It seems the simplest and most healthful way to get my fats in.
Thank you for your time in responding to this post. It is greatly appreciated.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Griff
MemberFrankly, I just deal with the taste. I don't particularly enjoy it either, but it brings my blood sugars way down, and for that I'll eat it. Try chasing it with some water.
I take one tablespoon two to three times daily, once before each meal.
I've also heard that people have substituted it for butter when they're cooking. You might try cooking your morning eggs in it.
Posted 5 months ago # -
pauleygirl
MemberThanks Griff and Maranne. Griff, you make this whole thing sound so easy. I do find this lifestyle much easier than other 'diets' i have tried, but I still worry daily that I am not doind something right. I guess only time will tell.
Thanks for the tips. I do not think just chasing it with water would do, but I will try it.....ugh!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Hello Kitty
MemberWhat brand is it? The favorful is the virgin/xvirgin unrefined. I haven't tried a variety of brands, but I love Whole Foods 365 and GNC (Emerald laboratories) brands. Delicious! Just got some Nutiva but haven't opened it yet.
I've seen online reviews of some brands that "taste like soap" but that hasn't been my experience. I have no problem eating it straight from the jar.
I've tried several coconut milks and taste varies a lot, so maybe you just got a brand of oil that was like that - not so tasty.
Posted 5 months ago # -
pauleygirl
MemberHello Kitty-maybe you are right. I guess a really greasy soap would describe the flavor. You said you eat it from the jar-what does it taste like to you? I do not remember the brand, but it is from the ethnic section of my local supermarket-to tell you the truth all i know for sure is it is blah! and it says organic. Have not used it much as when I cooked with it, noticed a poor flavor and 'baked' with it, yuck. I guess I will have to venture to World Market an hour away and see what choices they have there. At $10 for such a small jar, this is an expensive exploration for a good CO.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Hello Kitty
MemberIt doesn't have any other taste other than a mild coconut flavor. No weird soap or other off flavor, just yummy goodness. I ordered the Nutiva from Iherb.com (56 oz jar) because it was a lot cheaper per oz. than the 14-16 oz. jars in the stores. I've seen it a bit cheaper, but IHerb's shipping costs are very low so it more than made up for it. I figured I'd give that one a whirl since others here have said positive things about the flavor.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Geoff
MemberI'll second Griff and Maranne on using it for cooking. I pan fry things with it - salmon cakes on Tuesday, forest-fed bratwurst last night. It's a great medium for saute since it's stable at higher heats.
My brand of choice (WF 365 organic virgin) has a nice mellow coconut flavor and aroma that blossoms over heat. That said, I don't enjoy it straight from the jar.
Posted 5 months ago # -
dragonmamma
MemberIf you have refined or expeller pressed coconut oil, it will be tasteless. What you want is unrefined:
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/virgin_coconut_oil.htm
This stuff tastes wonderful!
They also have a page explaining everything you ever wanted to know about all the different oils and how they're produced.
I've made three orders from this company, and each time I've recieved my order in two days! They also have a recipe section.
Posted 5 months ago # -
OnTheBayou
MemberGood for you for trying to find info before posting!
This, believe it or not, HAS been discussed ad nauseum here. I think you had and MDA search engine failure, there's been discussion about that, too, in the last few days. For instance, you have to be in the forum part to search in the forums. Weird, eh? If you are at the home page, nothing from the forums shows up. Weird, eh?
In a brief nutshell, the two major categories are Virgin C.O., and Not So Virginal???? Ha ha. "Refined," although you will hardly ever see that on the label. It just won't say Virgin. Virgin retains a bit of that coconut taste, refined does not. It's bland like most oils.
Are you eating this as a liquid or is it cool and solid? The latter phase sure would be "waxy."
You can also get your CO via coconut milk. Brands vary in flavor and calories per unit, but they are essentially CO and water. And a few inconsequential carbs. Tasty, yum yum.
Posted 5 months ago # -
musajen
MemberPauley, I use Nutiva and I find it to be pretty tastey off the spoon. It has a mild coconut flavor (very mild) and is pure white in color. I've also tried Spectrum organic and that was pretty good also, but I think Nutiva wins out for me.
Something I like to do, steam my veggies (I use frozen veggies in the steamer bag for those busy days), dump into a bowl, scoop a tablespoon of coconut oil on it, sprinkle a little salt, and stir up.
Also Coconut Milk is great over blueberries...Maybe a little too great. ;)
Posted 5 months ago # -
chocolatechip69
MemberI second musajen. I also use Nutiva as it is VIRGIN organic stuff and tastes much better than other brands I've tried.
By the way, if you look it up on Amazon.com, you can get it twice as cheep as in any store out there.
What I discovered from trying to eat it with a spoon is that cold stuff goes down easier for me. I just pop a big chunk in my mouth and suck on it while chasing it down with some coffee. I tried it soft one time and almost threw up. It also leaves a weird frog-like feeling in my throat so I rarely every eat it with a spoon when it's plain:)However, I've made up quite a few delicious treats with it that make it a bit non-primal but also very delicious. All you do is take a 1/2 cup of coconut oil, melt and then mix it 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut, couple of tsps of cocoa powder, and maybe 1 tsp of agave syrup. Taste like chocolate butter:)
Another product out there is called Coconut Butter. It is much meatier than coconut oil and is actually made from coconut meat with the meat left in . There's Artisana brand that makes a very good stuff. That one you can actually eat plain. Or, I made this cool sweet stuff the other day. I took a few tbls of Artisana coconut butter, put 2 tsp of cocoa powder to make it very, very rich, and then added 1/2 tsp of Yacon syrup (or you can use agave). It turns very hard when it cools down and tastes just like chocolate truffles. Mmmm...delish.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Griff
Memberpauleygirl: I don't mean to make it "sound easy". Some things are still really hard (I miss mashed potatoes so much!).
The coconut oil I get is raw, extra virgin, centrifuged coconut oil. The brand is Earth Circle Organics. It does taste slightly sweet, but if your problem is with texture, that may just be "oil" in general, regardless of the taste. Even so, it's worth it to me to deal with the way it tastes, and chasing it with cold water helps with about 90% of that.
Posted 5 months ago # -
nina_70
MemberI'm actually with you on the coconut oil taste. I haven't been able to eat it "raw" (tried for a while, but started gagging). I've found 3 ways I really like it:
1/ In cooking...the slight taste it gives is actually very nice. Used it for salmon, eggs etc
2/ In raw-milk shakes...I know not everyone is into the milk here, but for whatever reason when I make a really cold raw-milk protein shake & put in a big old chunk of coconut oil it just tastes delicious. And, this is from someone who gags at the oil right out of the jar. It seems to "freeze-up" into delicate coconut-little-chunks in the shake & they taste wonderful...can't really explain it
3/ In full-fat yogurt...I know...it's the dairy again. But for some reason a big old chunk of coconut oil w/ yogurt tastes wonderful to me. I only use a little bit of yogurt plus a few berries
From #2 I might be able to find other "cold" treats. I think I saw a treat made from nuts & coconut oil somewhere. Maybe if I freeze them....
Posted 5 months ago # -
pauleygirl
MemberThank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to answer without any sarcasm. I am sorry if any of you felt I wasted your time-although, I did not feel as if I got that from any of you, save for OTB. I appreciate all of your comments and advice.
I went online to order stuff from the Philippines, yikes, that is definitely a no-go. Too expensive. So, I went back to my local supermarket-they only had the one I already bought and yuck. Although, when I got home this morning I double checked and the one I had already bought was Spectrum and it was refined. So, I took some advice from a few here, went to local health food store and found Nutiva. It smells so good. It is sweet and definitely tolerable. I am so happy now. I am glad that I have all of you here to work these things out with-this could have been an expensive lesson to learn on my own. Thanks again-
OTB:
For instance, you have to be in the forum part to search in the forums. Weird, eh? If you are at the home page, nothing from the forums shows up. Weird, eh?Hey OTB, not sure how to take you (really hard to interprets someone's tone in a post), especially if you have not meant them before.
I interpret your words here as sarcasm. Just wanted you to be aware that I actually knew you have to be in the forum to do a search IN the forum. That is what I did. Found some posts with some great discussions about makeup of oil versus milk , etc. and the like, but not what to look for in taste if you want to eat it uncooked. Nonetheless, if you were annoyed in any way by my post topic and its repetitiveness, you did not have to respond at all. I find many of your reply posts in the forum short and sarcastic, not a big fan of your tone, although it seems that when you can get past the sourness you have some great experience to share. Thing is, it is hard to "hear", because you set the tone with your seemingly negative manner. If I have interpreted your tone wrong, I apologize in advance. If not, it would be greatly appreciated on my end that if you feel bothered by something I do (like not use my caps button) or submit wasteful posts (repetitiveness of CO flavors), you simply do not post a reply to that post.
This forum is a positive mini-vacation that I take for myself out of a very hectic day and when I come here I like to read positive advice, opinions, and the experiences of others. Thank you-
Posted 5 months ago # -
Griff
MemberPauleygirl, I doubt that OTB was being sarcastic. I find it best to read forum posts at face value and not read sarcasm into them. Even if it was meant sarcastically (which I doubt), it's just easier on the psyche to assume people mean well - and on a forum like this, what's the point in assuming that they don't?
OTB just tends to be enthusiastic in his responses. I'd bet that his "ad nauseam" response was more an expression of irritation with the search engine problems on this site than with you.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Wendy1
MemberI was just talking with Sophi the other day about coconut oil -- she and I each bought a brand at a natural foods store, called "Hope's Harvest," which says it supports families in Rural Kenya and is organic. The other terms on the bottle are "wild harvested," "100 percent cold-pressed," and "extra virgin." It tastes super weird, especially when cooking with it.
Since then, my aunt gave me some of the Spectrum organic refined, and while this one is a little bland, it is at least tolerable.
We're going to see if the store will take the first kind back, but next time I'm going to try one of the ones you guys recommend!
Posted 5 months ago # -
klcarbaugh
MemberI think it depends on the brand and the person. My brother eats it out of the jar, but I don't like it plain. I say drink coconut milk, but again it depends on the brand. Some cans I tried tasted rotten and were so horrible they went straight int he garbage. Others I can drink plain... (I like the subtler richness of the "light" coconut milk and they usually have the same or less amount of carbs)
@chocolatechip: I believe you are misinformed about the fructose content in fruit. If you eat a piece of fruit, you get, say 3 or 4 grams (sugary fruits like apples have about 10, but a cup of strawberries has four). Agave is 70 percent fructose... so if you have a tablespoon of agave, you are getting about 19 carbs total, and about 11 of those are fructose. Most importantly, fructose takes up the capacity of your liver and gets neatly packaged into triglycerides for adipose tissue storage. It is more potent at inducing insulin resistance than other sugars. Do some research. It is not a good thing. I say use mashed fruit or honey if you really need it. I am not sure if stevia and erythritol are okay (because they probably raise insulin and make you hungry), but Truvia sweetener tastes amazing and I'd rater use it than agave any day.
Posted 5 months ago # -
groquette
MemberI didn't "hear" OTB's post as sarcastic, for what it's worth :) As a programmer I can tell you that writing a good search engine is HARD. I mean Really Frigging Difficult. Google makes it look easy.
As for the coconut oil thing, I know that a bunch of people over at Seth Roberts' forums ingest a bit of oil every day, and have developed various methods of tricking the gag reflex, you could poke around there and see if anything looks useful.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Tarlach
MemberGagging on something probably indicates that it's not a good idea (well ceratinly not natural).
I wouldn't go out of my way to eat coconut oil. Apparently coconut oil triggers an insurance response.
Coconut oil is also much less effective for building muscle than animal fat is.
Posted 5 months ago # -
pauleygirl
MemberThank you all very much. I really appreciate the responses.
Wendy1-glad this post helped you out too. I am enjoying the Nutiva brand. It is sweet and the texture is not bad at all.
Tarlach-I am glad you filled me in on the animal fat building muscle thing. I do not know that kind of stuff. So, as far as building the body up, whatever I read in the book about nutrition and muscle or get here is what I know. I just felt that I was eating too many nuts and seeds to get that fat into my diet so I wanted something with less carbs. Thought the coconut oil would be a better way to go. I will make sure to get more animal fats in too. I stocked up on bacon yesterday and plan to cook in the grease leftover from it. I had bought lard, but later realized it was hydrogenated-so, I do not use it.
Posted 5 months ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.