Can you use Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil for Cooking? (What is the smoke point?)
The smoke point is around 170°C (degrees Centigrade / Celsius). Specifically it is said to be 177°C and 350° F
Have you ever wondered what the smoke point was for Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil? There appears to be confusing statements in the market place. So the purpose of this page is to set your mind at rest.
Firstly we use Virgin Coconut Oil only
We only sell Virgin Coconut Oil on our site. We believe in the wholefood revitalising qualities of Virgin Coconut Oil, with its genuine Coconut taste and smell.
You can do deep frying without reaching that temperature, if you use a temperature controlled deck top frier.
We use it Virgin Coconut Oil for cooking all the time, specifically we use White Gold or Ancient Wisdom as well as other brands.
Then the food is in the oven, the oven can go way above 170°C and the oil won’t smoke because it is in the food.
Butter
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Virgin Coconut Oil
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Lard
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|---|---|---|
100 grams of butter has
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100 mls of Coconut Oil has
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100 grams of lard (pig fat) has
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What is a high smoke point?
There appears to be confusing talk about “high heat” and “high smoke point” in the market place. I’ve seen a lot of commentary in the market place about how Virgin Coconut Oil has a high smoke point. I’ve also seen lard referred to as having a high smoke point. Lard’s smoke point is higher than Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). So what is a low smoke point?
Butter has a low smoke point. It is only 150° C | 302° F.
So if Virgin Coconut Oil has a smoke point that is 177° C | 350° F, it must be a high smoke point. Right?
Life would be simple if we all agree that 170- 177 degrees is a high smoke point for Coconut Oil. But there are other ways to extract Coconut Oil other than Virgin Coconut Oil methods. These other high heat, steam, and sometimes chemicals extraction methods denature the oil’s phytonutrients, and leave them with an even higher smoke point.
That is why we have “Refined” Cold Pressed Coconut Oil in the shops. Refined oil is missing taste, smell, and phytonutrients – the essential oils that feed plants. It might be Cold Pressed to get the oil out, but it is treated so roughly in the refining process that is no longer clean white when solid, turns yellow when liquid, and has a much higher smoke point.
Comparative properties of common cooking fats (per 100g) Source: Wikipedia.
| Total fat | Saturated fat | Monounsaturated fat | Polyunsaturated fat | Smoke point | |
| Sunflower oil | 100g | 11g | 20g (84g in high oleic variety[22]) | 69g (4g in high oleic variety[22]) | 225 °C (437 °F)[23] |
| Soybean oil | 100g | 16g | 23g | 58g | 257 °C (495 °F)[23] |
| Canola oil | 100g | 7g | 63g | 28g | 205 °C (401 °F)[22][24] |
| Olive oil | 100g | 14g | 73g | 11g | 190 °C (374 °F)[23] |
| Corn oil | 100g | 15g | 30g | 55g | 230 °C (446 °F)[23] |
| Peanut oil | 100g | 17g | 46g | 32g | 225 °C (437 °F)[23] |
| Rice bran oil | 100g | 25g | 38g | 37g | 213 °C (415 °F) |
| Vegetable shortening (hydrogenated) | 71g | 23g (34%) | 8g (11%) | 37g (52%) | 165 °C (329 °F)[23] |
| Lard | 100g | 39g | 45g | 11g | 190 °C (374 °F)[23] |
| Suet | 94g | 52g (55%) | 32g (34%) | 3g (3%) | 200°C (400°F) |
| Butter | 81g | 51g (63%) | 21g (26%) | 3g (4%) | 150 °C (302 °F)[23] |