Coconut oil...

[OldBaldHippie]

Trending...a fad?...oh what the heck...I ordered some from amazon to try...cook with it or just slug down a tablespoon or two...supposed to be good for you and help with weight loss...

[crazypants]

My sister is huge on food fads. She convinced me to start cooking with it. Then my girlfriend who is a dietitian talked to me about research showing how bad it is for you. I switched back to olive oil and canola oil.

[merigayle]

fad. I see people using it for everything, including sunblock, which sounds like a VERY VERY bad idea.

[crazypants]

OBH- Use it, but use it in moderation. It's lard, so use the same way you'd use butter. A small pat will get you far.

[leggova]

How is it lard? Lard is animal fat isn't it?

[GreenMan]

According to this, coconut oil's bad rep came from research on the partially hydrogenated kind -- you don't want hydrogenated oils. The virgin kind is a lot friendlier.

[harmony]

I use it for baking in one cookie recipe in particular.  Never tried it with anything else.

[The Turtle Whisperer]

It gets lots of press as a sex lube... so, if you don't like how it's working in the kitchen... 

[cgraz]

Isn't it the big thing for paleo cooking? Instead of using other kinds of oil or butter, cooking with coconut oil is preferred...

I have no idea why.

[merigayle]

Isn't it the big thing for paleo cooking? Instead of using other kinds of oil or butter, cooking with coconut oil is preferred...

I have no idea why.

that is how the cavemen cooked on their stoves, with coconut oil! duh!

[Run Amok]

I use it sometimes... But, it's not my fave. I still prefer olive oil for cooking.

[crazypants]

I use it sometimes... But, it's not my fave. I still prefer olive oil for cooking.

Olive Oil has been my standard oil.
I started toying with canola oil for veggies specifically because it has a higher smoke point, and I've been experimenting with using higher heat for a shorter time to flash the veggies and keep some crispness in them.

[onawhim]

I put it on my hair 

[caribougrrl]

Olive Oil has been my standard oil.
I started toying with canola oil for veggies specifically because it has a higher smoke point, and I've been experimenting with using higher heat for a shorter time to flash the veggies and keep some crispness in them.

I hate HATE the taste of canola oil.  I use sunflower oil when I don't want the richness of olive oil... and peanut oil for frying stuff.

[Run Amok]

I'm also not a fan of canola because of the controversy surrounding canola/rapeseed. I also choose sunflower.

I don't really have too much trouble cooking veggies quickly in olive oil and just don't hit the smoke point. I like most veggies just warm and still pretty firm in the middle.

[radial]

I've been cooking with it for the past 6 months or so.  It is more heat stable than olive oil, so it works better for frying stuff.  Also, you can just leave it sitting around at room temperature pretty much forever without it going bad.  I have a big jar of it that I leave out on the counter next to the stove and dip into whenever I need to keep something from sticking to a pan. 

[Dagstag v 2.0]

I like it. I make chocolate cashew milk and other nut milks and sometimes blend it in.

Also have used it in baking before.

[Magic Microbe]

Trending...a fad?...oh what the heck...I ordered some from amazon to try...cook with it or just slug down a tablespoon or two...supposed to be good for you and help with weight loss...

That is equivalent to eating butter. Not healthy.

and how can any fat / oil help with weight loss? That makes no sense.

[rocketgirl]

Aren't x calories from fat more satisfying/filling than the same x calories from carbs?

[Magic Microbe]

Aren't x calories from fat more satisfying/filling than the same x calories from carbs?

People say this but a calorie is a calorie. And are people really filled up by eating a spoonful of oil?