Are you looking for coconut oil with no taste or smell?
If you're just wondering where to find the coconut oil with no taste or smell, also called refined coconut oil or expeller pressed coconut oil, here's where I buy mine.
Coconut oil is so good for you!
You've probably already learned about all the many health benefits of unrefined virgin coconut oil, but as you know, for some recipes, it just doesn't work to have the taste and flavor of coconut. And some of you may not like the taste – I used to detest it, but I eat my popcorn made with coconut oil all the time now and it has started to grow on me!
The coconut oil with no taste OR smell is more refined/processed, so some say it's not AS good for you as the virgin coconut oil, but others say it still has the same benefits, and you can even fry with it if you watch the smoke-point. (Some deep fry with it, but the smoke point is higher in beef tallow or lard so I use that.)
Keep in mind that some coconut oil with no taste or smell is expeller pressed/refined more gently than others, so they retain more of the nutrients, including Lauric acid – which is one of the best things about coconut oil.
Read more about coconut oil benefits here.
Here's where to buy expeller pressed/refined coconut oil with no taste or smell
Have you seen these posts?
- Homemade chocolate candy made with healthy coconut oil!
- Infused Coconut Oil – a 4-in-1 superfood!
- Kelly's popcorn made with coconut oil like they used to use at the movie theater
- 5 plastic safety tips
- Delicious smoothies with virgin coconut oil or coconut milk
- Recipe for easy homemade bread/buns/cinnamon rolls
No, you don’t miss the benefits according to Bruce Fife ND. He’s written numerous books on Coconut Oil benefits (along with explanations of some of the harmful effects of certain prescription meds. He says that it is good as both refined and unrefined. It doesn’t sound like it’s like a vegetable that loses it’s nutrients.
Couple of questions:
Tropical Traditions
“WHY” doesn’t Tropical Traditions expeller pressed coconut oil have any flavor? I mean, if it’s gently pressed and otherwise-unprocessed, then how was the flavor eliminated?
Also, how is Tropical Traditions Virgin oil processed, if it’s not expeller pressed?
Aside from one not having any taste and other tasting like coconuts, I’m not really seeing any difference.
How do the grams (or percentage) of Lauric Acid compare between their expeller pressed and their virgin?
Tropical Traditions assures that their non-organic coconut oil is also pesticide-residue free, since there are no pesticides being used around their trees. It is, however, simply not certified. I believe that. But if you like the certification, they offer a certified “organic” coconut oil for a little more money.
Trader Joe’s
If you’re ok with the taste of coconut, and if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, it’s so lucky to have an easy supply of Trader Joe’s organic virgin coconut oil. It tastes a little like coconut, and I eat it by the tablespoonful.
Trader Joe’s virgin coconut oil is also labeled “organic,” but it doesn’t seem to cost extra for the “organic” label. If Trader Joe’s is in your neighborhood, and if you’re ok with gentle taste of coconuts, then the stars are aligning in your favor.
Lauric Acid
Finally, it would be nice if Trader Joes and the other producers / distributors would specify the amount of Lauric Acid in their assorted coconut oil(s). Presently, when we go to make our purchases, we can’t take that into account if they won’t specify.
Best of luck,
-neil-
I am in love with coconut oil
Just read your blog, good stuff.
After cooking spaghetti add
Spoonful of coconut oil
I’am not clear after reading all these comments. I spend hours reading about Coconut oil. Unfortunately I can’t choose witch is the appropriate oil to consume 3 times a day by spoon. I brought Spectrum “ORGANIC EXPELLED PRESSED , REFINED OIL”.(lable sais non hydrogenated) I also brought ” LOU ANA “100 0/0 Pure Coconut Oil. NON HYDROGENATED 0 0 Trans fat, refine. Expeller press = Extracted traditional below 80 no chemical add . Refine =no smell. Non hydrogenated = Virgin Oil . {It appears that Virgin Oil lable its just a marketing catch to the eye} Can someone please clarify all above?Before I have a heart attack …..
If you’re going to take it by spoon for the health benefits, I’d take this kind:
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/06/organic-virgin-coconut-oil-deals-best.html
It’s least refined for the *most* health benefits.
The one I discuss in this post (refined for no taste or smell) is for cooking when you are making something that a coconut taste wouldn’t go well with. It’s still good for you, but not AS good as the less refined. (Although others have said that Bruce Fife said you do still get the same benefits.)
Kelly
I’m late to the game here but just wanted to say that I buy Virgin organic for the no taste to use with cooking and extra virgin for when I want the coconut flavor. According to Bruce Fife’s wife according to him there really is no difference in the benefits. In that they are the same.
I use the Nutiva unrefined, and got a small jar of the Wilderness Family refined. I love both! However, I have found Mountain Rose Herbs has great prices, if you’re looking to buy a gallon (I’m wanting to go ahead to get a gal. of refined, since we use it for EVERYTHING). I also have subbed the unrefined in Banana bread, instead of using Crisco… YUM!
Thought I’d share!
For “movie theater” tasting popcorn, you want “refined” coconut oil. It does not taste like coconuts, but it does give popcorn that special something. I use LouAna refined coconut oil for cooking when I don’t want a coconut flavor. I emailed them and they told me they do not use chemicals in the refining process, only heat and filters. Frying in refined coconut oil makes for very light, non-greasy fried foods, without a coconut taste.
I agree that they are very good about customer service, that means a lot. I just love what I use now so much that I couldn’t switch. But I do like their unrefined. Thanks for sharing your experience!
TT has contacted me several times, by email and by phone, since I wrote that last post. They are sending me a quart of EP oil to compare to the one I have. If it’s significantly different they will send me out a new gallon free of charge. They have been wonderful! The woman who called me said that the EP oil shouldn’t have any smell or taste, so I must have gotten a “bad” batch, but she couldn’t imagine what was wrong with it. It doesn’t sound like this sort of thing happens a lot. Anyway, I couldn’t be happier with the way they are taking care of this for me. What great customer service! Oh, and she said that the Gold Label is very strong because it has such a high concentration of antioxidants in it. She suggested taking 1/4 tsp a day for a while till I got used to it. She said that she’s talked to people who do this and after a while, the strong taste goes away. Like your body just gets used to it and then you don’t notice it anymore. So I will try that and see how it goes. Thanks!
I’ve written about this somewhere on the blog, but I can’t stand that stuff either. The coc.oil with no taste or smell is fine (and that’s what I use regularly and there’s a link to it in this post), but their virgin stuff I can’t handle at all. When I called they gave me more jars of the refined and let me keep the other, which I use on my skin now to finish it up.
Go to my post about the organic unrefined coconut oil to see what I use now and LOVE: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/02/organic-coconut-health-benefits-dieting.html
I just ordered the Tropical Traditions Gold Label coconut oil and the Expeller-Pressed oil. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I can’t stand the smell or taste of either one. The Expeller-Pressed oil smells like petroleum to me. I thought it wouldn’t have a smell or taste. The Gold Label is just too stong and “sharp” smelling. It doesn’t taste like the other oil I have from another company. I wrote TT, but haven’t heard back yet. Is it just me or is the EP oil supposed to have such a strong smell?
I just wanted to comment on which Coconut Oil tastes best in my experience. I have tried many various brands. Spectrum was just nasty, a really “off” flavor. Nutiva is good, but I have found my favorite to be Tropical Traditions.
I get the Green Label non-virgin for cooking; it’s bland with no flavor. I did try the Gold Label Virgin oil, but found the taste to be a little too strong and kind of “funny” tasting for me.
The Gold Label is extracted by hand; the Green Label is centrifuge extracted so the Green Label is a little milder and tastes very good to me. I contacted their Customer Service about the Gold Label. They told me some people do not like it and they sent me a replacement with the Green label for free; they didn’t even charge for the S&H. I was extremely impressed with their Customer Service! They actually called me on the phone and were so nice.
I did try the “Supreme Coconut Oil” from the site that Amy talked about. It was good too, but I actually prefer the Tropical Traditions Green Label Organic Coconut Oil and it was cheaper than the Supreme. The Supreme is good too; I just prefer the taste of Traditional Traditions. Of course everyone has different taste buds! 🙂
I believe Traditional Traditions has the cheapest Coconut Oil and products available. A lot of time I take advantage of their “Buy 1 get 1 Free” offer. I don’t have anything to do with any of these companies; I just wanted to share my experiences. I eat it everyday in food, cook with it, and also use it as a body oil.
Hector, the refined has no taste or smell, so you’d want the “virgin” unrefined.
I read on the internet that the secret of movie style popcorn is coconut oil.Which of the coconut oil as for as refined or unrefined would give me that taste.
Thank You
I’m so glad!
On the issue of heating and refining… these are two different terms, as I understand it. If you’ve ever seen Sally Fallon do one of her presentations on “The Oiling of America” or traditional diets, she has an impressive chart showing the intricate refining process for standard vegetable oil (canola, soy, safflower, corn, sunflower mainly) and it turns out it’s no coincidence it resembles a petroleum refinery. It’s essentially the same process. These oils are not merely heated, they’re heated at high temperatures under pressure and are bleached, deodorized, catalyzed with various chemicals, what-not. That’s a far cry from simply heating coconut oil to 120 degrees and letting impurities settle out. Of course, we want to make sure our oil isn’t put through anything resembling the industrial processing of the PUFA oils (polyunsaturated fatty acids). I don’t think it’s standard to put coconut oil through all that, it certainly isn’t necessary to extract the oil. I don’t know the details of coconut oil extraction other than what I’ve read on various makers’ websites, such as Tropical Traditions. Bruce Fife may have something on this in one of his books. Basically, while we should pay attention, I think a lot of the concern about coconut oil handling is probably misplaced. But it’s good we’re all sharing information. If someone tried to sneak in deodorizers and bleach and whatnot, we users would surely notice!
Jeanmarie, I LOVE this suggestion!!!
Hi Kelly, me again! I wanted to pass on an idea for those who don’t like the taste of coconut oil.
You and many of your readers know of the “Mary’s oil blend” in Nourishing Traditions. I’ve also tried a blend from Three Stone Hearth that has red palm oil in it. I’ve never liked the taste of palm oil, but maybe the jar I bought was rancid. Anyway, those both gave me the idea to experiment with making ghee (clarified butter) and blending oils, and now my favorite cooking fat is a blend of ghee and coconut oil. After I make ghee, I blend it, while still warm, with about equal parts coconut oil, stir well, put it in a jar, maybe shaking it up from time to time to make sure it stays mixed as it cools, and the result is a wonderful, delicate-tasting, almost neutral but better-tasting fat for sauteeing and frying.
One time when I made it, I accidentally let the butter get too hot when making the ghee, and it didn’t quite burn but it did caramelize a bit. I cooled it down, then it solidified before I could mix it, so I rewarmed it… anyway I eventually filtered this and blended it with coconut oil, and this batch had the most wonderful caramel aroma and hint of caramel flavor. It was unbelievably good. Even the other batches that weren’t caramelized have all been terrific. There seems to be some synergy with blending oils, and the combination with ghee seems to raise the smoking point of the coconut oil. It really is lovely, you should try it. It tastes good enough to put in mashed potatoes as a topping!
Hi Margaret, I don’t know the answer to your question for SURE, as I’ve never seen anything specifically on this. However, Sally Fallon has said, and common sense tells me, that it would have SOME of the health benefits, but not all, and that like you said, it would be much better than vegetable oils.
Bruce Fife who has done a lot of research says that you will still get a lot of benefit from expeller pressed virgin coconut oil. I get mine at Organic Creations online. I do get the extra virgin (with coconut flavor) that I use by the spoonful or recipes where I do want the taste of coconut oil.
I just visited a local health food store – won’t mention any names…on Eastern and Burton, G.R. – The sales woman there was very very negative about refined coconut oit – she was almost angry with me for even thinking of purchasing it! She told me that I would not get any of the health benefits of the coconut by buying it this way. I told her I could not stomach the un refined stuff – and I thought to myself this has to better than the canola oil my granola recipe calls for. So do we miss that many benefits by using the refined – and also when cooking or baking with it might we actually end up refining coconut oil anyway?
Paula, it’s fun “seeing you” all over on my blog tonight! 🙂
I’m glad you posted this here, because since I wrote this post, I’ve come a LOOOONG way. I started with just popcorn & smoothies, but I’m getting so I like coconut in a lot of things – my taste buds are adapting I think, and I’m thankful!
When I give it to the kids to eat off the spoon, I usually add some chocolate chips from Enjoy Life (only three ingredients: evaporated cane juice, Chocolate Liquor, Non-Dairy cocoa Butter – I am still learning, are any of these ingredients bad for you?).
Also, I have found that I can use the healthy strong flavored coconut oils in strong flavored things and not taste the coconut. For example, we use it to brown the onion as well as saute the veggies for our chili (adding veggies makes it stretch for cheaper than adding more meat), and because of the seasonings for the chili, you really cannot taste the coconut oil! I add it to soups that have strong flavors (like tomato and such), and it really is difficult to taste the coconut. Just something to think about. 🙂 Thanks for ALL the GREAT posts on your blog! I am learning SO MUCH!! 😀
I promise you, there is truly NO taste or smell!
But you just said in the previous post that Spectrum had a funny smell, and that you would never eat the Tropical from a spoon?
Denise,
I was referring to the refined kind (expeller pressed) – it really does not have any taste or smell. And I don’t take the virgin coc. oil off a spoon because I’m a sissy! I need it IN something. 🙂
Kelly
Does the spectrum/tropical traditions refined oil really have no taste?? I cannot stand the taste of coconut oil. I am more tolerant of it now but it is still horrid and makes my skin crawl. However I do understand the benefits of lauric acid and the mcfas which I can also get from the refined. I just don’t want it to have any coconut taste!!!
Hi Amy,
GREAT info, thank you! You know, I had just tried the Spectrum recently and thought it had a funny smell, too, but figured it must just be me…now I know – no wonder it’s inexpensive!
I love the Tropical Traditions virgin oil for my popcorn, but would never think to eat it off the spoon – I’m learning to like coconut, but not THAT much!
I’m glad you love the Nutiva brand for the virgin oil, since that’s the one I found cheapest online.
Thanks again!
Kelly
Thank you, Kelly for all the great info you provide here!
I have been using/experimenting with coconut oils for 2 years and have tried several brands so I thought I’d share my thoughts.
Spectrum refined coconut oil was the first I tried and we all thought it had an awful, bad flavor.
I found a refined coconut oil at Walmart that has a good “bland” flavor (not coconutty) but I’m not sure of its quality. It’s very cheap – about $3.50 for 16oz.
Tropical Traditions virgin oil is OK but not the best tasting. It almost has a bit of a perfumy aftertaste or something. I have not tried the TT refined oil.
Nutiva virgin oil has a great (mild coconut) flavor and is reasonably priced. I use it the most because I can buy it local at a health food store.
The very best tasting virgin oil is Coconut Oil Supreme (found at Coconut Oil-online.com) – it tastes like the inside of a Mounds bar – this is the one you can eat straight off a spoon (if you like coconut), however it is the most expensive when you include shipping.
Just wanted to share my experiences and hopefully it will help someone in their decision.
I appreciate all you do here and will keep reading!
Amy
Hi Shauna,
Hmmmm, that IS interesting. A few months ago I’d have said, “No way would I like that.” But now that I’ve found a couple things I DO like it in, I think my taste buds are getting more used to it and I may be ready to try more recipes…like a veggie saute, or MAYBE I’ll try it in my eggs!
Thanks!
Kelly
Kelly,
Recently, I’ve been using the extra virgin coconut oil to saute my vegetables….. and really, MOST of the flavor is not “coconutty” at all. Last night, I sauteed zucchini in it, and it was delicious! FAR more flavor than simply steaming the zucchini. I also made “fried potatoes and onions” (they’re not really fried – just sauteed until they’re cooked through), and put sea salt and pepper on them – they were MARVELOUS. Those two sides made a wonderful addition to the spinach and bacon quiche I made (with whole, raw dairy and farm eggs). It was a great meal with all the good fats, very satisfying on a dreary rainey day.
But – just wanted to mention – I find that sauteeing the vegetables a good way to use the evco, and the flavor goes away mostly.
I also like to scramble my eggs in the evco – it REALLY is good….. plain scrambled eggs, with sea salt and pepper. It’s interesting.
I am getting away more and more from the unflavored.