Coconut oil comes from the meat or kernel of the mature seed from the coconut palm. This seed is commonly known as a coconut and is the most common source of fat for many people who live in tropical islands. Coconut oil is used as cooking oil, and it's also common in many commercial snack foods.
Manufacture
Coconut oil is made commercially, and it can also be made at home. Remove the coconut kernel from the husk and shred the kernel. Mix the shredded kernel with water and mix it into a pulp. Place the pulp in a press and apply pressure to produce an extract. Set this extract aside and allow the coconut milk to separate from the oil. Skim the milk from the surface to produce the pure oil.
Serving Size
This nutritional information will be based on a serving size of 1 tbsp. of coconut oil. This amount of coconut oil weighs ½ oz. or about 14g. This information is for pure coconut oil without any other additives.
Properties
Coconut oil has several physical properties that make it an excellent cooking oil. It has a high content of saturated fat, which gives it a relatively high melting point of 76 degrees F. Coconut oil is highly stable and has a maximum shelf life of 2 years. It must also be heated to 360 degrees F before it will start to smoke.
Calories
A serving of coconut oil contains a total of 122 calories. All of these calories come fat since coconut oil has no carbohydrates or protein. A serving of coconut oil provides 6.1 percent of the daily value (DV) for calories, assuming a diet of 2,000 calories per day.
Fat
A serving of coconut oil typically has about 13.6g of fat. This includes 11.76g of saturated fat and 1.84g of unsaturated fat. A gram of fat provides 9 calories, so 13.6g of coconut oil has 122 calories from fat. Coconut oil doesn't contain any trans fat or cholesterol.
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