Making Coconut Oil

[Amigas del Señor]

From Sister Confianza

Where we live in  Limón, Colón, Honduras, coconut is a major ingredient in local foods, especially in the Garifuna Afro-Caribe culture.  Last week we tried our hand at making coconut oil ourselves.  

Lorany's kids helped husk the 40-plus coconuts I'd collected from several trees in our yard. (The ones you buy in the grocery store are already husked.)  I saved two sackfuls of the fibrous husks, which are useful for starting the cook fire.  We decided to save time (and our arms) and not grate the coconuts by hand.  Here's a photo of Lorany's traditional grater made of tiny quartz pieces pounded into a mahogany board.  

Instead I took it to a neighbor who has an electric grater and paid him to do it.  We were grateful to have the money to pay for it.  You just hold the half coconut to the spinning device and it shreds the flesh pretty well.  

The next step is to make coconut milk.  We put the grated coconut in a large bowl with water.  Then Lorany and I took turns kneading and squeezing the milk out.  We got two bucket fulls of milk.

We added a little sour orange juice and let it sit overnight in the washtub.  By morning, there was a layer of solid stuff on top, which I removed with a spoon.

Then I boiled it on the stove to separate the oil from the scum.  After straining, we got a liter and a quarter of coconut oil!  

We especially like it in rice.  Some people use it to fry fish or to make flour tortillas.  We are pleased to be eating truly local food. 

Bendiciones,

Sister Confianza

Amigas del Señor Monastery

Limón, Colón

Honduras

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