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Coconut Oil is extensively used in cooking in coastal tropical regions, where coconut is grown in abundance.
There has always been a quest among those dedicated housewives for the perfect cooking oil, which will be healthy, stable, does not go rancid and at the same time, will be light on pocket. People in the coastal areas of Asia, particularly in Southern India, got the answer to this quite early. For centuries, they have been using coconut oil in cooking and had a nice time. They did neither bother about whether it was saturated fat or not, and neither did it have any adverse effect on them either. It is in the sixties and seventies, when some researches tried to prove that saturated fats were dreaded villains and should be avoided as far as possible. This made some turn their faces away from coconut oil. But, now the times are changing and use of coconut oil in cooking is again gaining popularity. Let us know why.
Recent researches show that all saturated fats and not bad for health, and neither do all of them increase the level of cholesterol in the blood, and even if they do, this cholesterol need not be the Bad Cholesterol. Let me explain this in a bit details. There are two types of cholesterol, namely, High Density Lipoproteins or Good Cholesterol and Low Density Lipoproteins or Bad Cholesterol. While the Bad Cholesterol (LDL) gets deposited in the inner walls of arteries and poses a threat for heart (in extreme cases, it can give heart attacks), the Good Cholesterol (HDL) does just the opposite. It helps lower the level of Bad Cholesterol, provides energy and nutrition to cells and benefits the body in other ways too.
You might be wondering what that has to do with coconut oil. Here, you will be delighted to know that some saturated fatty acids like Capric Acid and Lauric Acid present in your good old coconut oil raise the level of High Density Lipoproteins in the body, lowers Bad Cholesterol, boost immunity and fight ageing. They also increase rate of metabolism and thus help shed weight. Isn’t it amazing? Oil that helps loose weight! So, there is absolutely nothing to worry about your health while using coconut oil in cooking.
Now, that was the health aspect of using Coconut oil in cooking. Let us jump on to another aspect. Taste! When it is a matter of your taste buds, nobody is ready to compromise. Good news for them too! The sweet, earthly and yet refreshing scent of coconut oil and its fabulous taste make it an ideal cooking medium. Dip fry in it and enjoy the aroma.
Finally, the financial aspect! The regular pure edible grade coconut oil (generally it is refined, bleached and deodorized) is not at that costly (at least when compared to some like olive oil and sweet almond oil, the latter is not used in cooking although). What’s more, since it is very dense and stable, it is required less in cooking. That saves your pocket too.
Fed up with my lectures? Want to try some coconut oil in cooking instead? Well said! Go ahead and have a nice time munching.
This article is contributed by Aparup Mukherjee.
Sources of Information:
- Reports of Coconut Development Board of India,
- Reports of KERAFED.
- Text books of various courses of agriculture.
- Various other reports on internet.
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