Virgin coconut oil may be hard to find and are not readily available in some areas. Some would find it expensive. The good news is that you can produce your own virgin coconut oil at the comfort of your own home. This article will show you how.

Materials:

1 fresh coconut   blender

cheesecloth/coffe filter        wide glass jar

Procedure:

1. Extract coconut milk from fresh coconut.

            a. To produce its milk, remove the meat from the shell.

            b. Cut the coconut into strips or chunks. Place them in the blender.

            c. Add a small amount of hot water.

            d. Blend it for a few minutes.

            e. Place the cheesecloth over the mouth of the glass jar.

            f. Pour a little of the mixture over it.

            g. Squeeze the cheesecloth to obtain the milk and separate the pulp.

            h. Repeat the process with the remaining mixture.

Tips:

• Put just enough water. Too much liquid will overly dilute the milk.
• You may opt to refrigerate the coconut strips before blending. Freezing them and then thawing will soften the coconut meat. This will enable you to extract more juice. Freezing does not alter the taste or nutrient content.

2. Now that you have your milk let it rest in an uncovered glass jar for 1- 2 days.
3. As effect of the fermentation process, the water and oil will separate. A layer of curd will form on top and the water settles down. The oil is to be found in the top two layers.
4. Refrigerate the jar to let the oil and the curd harden.
5. Remove the oil/curd from the jar after it has solidified. Throw away the liquid/water.
6. Heat the oil and curd in a saucepan 140 to 180 °F (50-60 °C) for about 12 hours.
7. Let it cool. You can now see oil and coconut solids in the pan.
8. Separate the solids from the oil.
9. Put cheesecloth over the mouth of the glass jar.
10. Pour the oil mixture into the cheesecloth. 
11. Let the oil drain for a couple of hours.
12. Squeeze the cheesecloth and discard remaining curd. 

Depending on the size of the coconut, this process will produce 3-4 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil.

Tips:

• Fermentation occurs best at temperatures of 85-105 degrees F. Place the oil in a slightly heated oven, if your room is not this warm.
• In draining the oil in the cheesecloth, make sure that the room temperature is 76 degrees F. This is to ensure that the oil will not solidify.