Coconut oil is a vegetable oil rich in saturated fatty acids: used in moderation it can be very useful in cooking for some sweet and savory recipes.
Dietary use of coconut oil: good or harmful to health?
Coconut oil is a vegetable oil that is obtained by pressure from the coconut pulp and is then refined.
Coconut oil has long been used in the kitchen in much of the world and lately it is also proving successful in our country, especially among those who have chosen a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Coconut oil is in fact praised for alleged beneficial health properties : it is recommended for example in the case of high cholesterol and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Actually coconut oil is made up of 93% saturated fatty acids, which makes it a very unhealthy food if consumed in large quantities .
A diet rich in saturated fats is in fact associated with a greater risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases .
This does not mean that coconut oil should not be used, but surely it should not be abused .
Use coconut oil when using it
The consistency and chemical characteristics of coconut oil make it a very useful ingredient in the kitchen and, if used in moderation, can help replace butter, lard, margarine, palm oil and for cooking at high temperatures.
For example, thanks to the richness in saturated fats, coconut oil is particularly suitable for frying or cooking at high temperatures since no harmful compounds are formed when it is heated: if you occasionally want to taste good fry, the oil of coconut is therefore definitely suitable for the purpose.
Coconut oil is solid below 20 ° C, therefore it is suitable for the preparation of sweet or savory recipes instead of butter, margarine or other saturated fats, to give consistency; you can use coconut oil to prepare the puff pastry, the biscuit dough, the short pastry or the piadine, to give some examples.
Coconut oil is also excellent to replace butter on breakfast biscuits with a veil of jam.
On the market there are two types of coconut oil, one practically tasteless and the other with a delicate tropical aroma: the second lends itself to the preparation of dishes to which you want to give an exotic flavor or to stir-fry products with little flavor, such as natural tofu.
Price and where it is
Coconut oil can be bought in organic grocery stores or in ethnic food stores.
The price is very variable and generally ranges from 10 to 30 euros per kilo.
