i'm sure the residue of chemicals used to process oils gets left behind and consumed, it can't be great to ingest... so short of calling the company how do you know/guess if hexane or other chemicals have been used to process the oils you buy?

Hi coco,

This doesn't answer your question exactly, but I remember in Ann Wigmore's "Recipes for Longer Life" she had a simple recipe for homemade coconut oil (made from mature coconut). I think it was because she didn't trust commercial oil.

Hi coco,

Generally, the term "cold expeller pressed," or some variant of that, indicates that the oil has been extruded through force alone. With olive oil, one sometimes sees "stone pressed," which means that the oil has been extruded by the old millwheel method. There is some friction heat generated even by this oldy fashionedy way, but typically, the smaller the company, the more lo-fi and heat and chemical free the process ought to be. Good luck : )

Hello Coco,

From my understanding,cold-pressed will generally indicate a low-heat or non-heat method of oil extraction. Expeller-pressed is hit-and-miss, in that it may be okay but also may be extracted with too much heat. However, it probably would still be kosher in terms of avoiding hexane.

I would defintely advise people to avoid buying oils in supermarkets, except the natural ones. The non-natural methods include deodorizers, chemicals, and render the oils very toxic. I can taste oil which is rancid or otherwise destroyed.

interesting, thanks guys! i sure wish i had that wigmore recipe for homemade coconut oil, that sounds pretty cool. i use it so sparingly, i only need a teensy bit now and then. wish i could press my own sunflower, pumpkin and hemp,now that would be great!

How To Make Your Own Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil

1.Select only fresh and mature quality coconuts.
2.Split coconuts and collect coconut water.
3.Grate coconuts and collect coconut meat.
4.Bag the coconut meat. Use white nylon mesh bag.
5.Place bag in a Cold Press machine. At home, you can hand press using gloves. Collect coconut milk.
6.Soak the pressed bag in coconut water and press for a second time. Collect more coconut milk.
7.Allow the coconut milk to settle undisturbed in a cabinet at 32degC for 10-17 hours. Coconut oil will naturally separate from water and proteins.
8.Carefully collect and filter the oil and avoid mixing with the bottom water layer. The oil is colorless.

and there are neat plans on here [journeytoforever.org] for making a seeds press and winnowing box , im guessing you can use any seed or modify it somehow for other seeds an nuts

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2010 05:14PM by Jgunn.

here is a pictoral of making homemade coconut oil [central-america-forum.com]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

COOL! i have a single gear juicer that would press it, i've made coconut creme like that before and boy, is it EVER rich, whoo. i'll give it a try, i have 2 coconuts at home just sitting there...