cut coconut into small pieces and blend

2. Use the coconut water while blending, you can add a little water if it's not enough.

Coconut water

3. Extract the Coconut milk from the flakes making sure to squeeze out all the milk. After the extraction, cover your coconut milk with cling film and leave in a dark place to ferment for 24 to 48 hours. 

Coconut Milk

4. After fermentation, you'll have three layers, the first layer is this brown residue, the second layer is the oil while the last layer is water. 

After Fermentation

5. Using a spoon, gently scoop the first layer to expose the second layer which is the oil.

First layer

6. I didn't do mine gently and at the end i still had the first layer mixed with my oil. don't worry if yours looks like this, i have the perfect way to separate it.

Second layer is the oil

7. Put in the freezer for two to three hours or longer to help separate the water from the oil

After putting in the freezer

8.  When you take it out of the freezer, you will have a solid white mass on top, that
 is the coconut oil, break the iceberg and use a strainer to carefully separate the oil from the water.

Coconut Oil Because i didn't separate the first layer well, i had to let it melt so i could sieve it to remove the brown residue.

After extraction, i had about 1/4 of coconut oil and i wasn't happy. All the effort and i couldn't even get enough coconut oil for two hot oil treatments so i decided to try something else.

Remember that brown topmost layer? because i didn't separate well, i had my oil in the mixture so i decided it to pop it in the microwave for about five minutes and my Coconut oil appeared, all of it. Sieve the coconut oil again to remove the remaining brown residue and add it to the other one you got before. Your homemade coconut oil is ready

Is it still virgin pressed? i think so! but the next time i try it i will gently separate the first layer from the oil to avoid the heating process. If you live in Nigeria, you might want to leave this in the fridge

Here's the final product.



THE HEAT PROCESS
For those of you that can't go through the long process, here's the heating method.

Let the coconut milk ferment for 12 to 24 hours, here you will have first layer which is coconut cream and second layer which is water. Carefully separate the Coconut cream from the water.
Pour the coconut cream in a pot and cook on low heat, stir the cream while heating till the oil starts coming out, you will know it's ready when the left over residue in it turns golden brown. Sieve with a strainer and your Coconut oil is ready. 

Are you willing to splurge on Coconut Oil or will you be buying 600 naira Coconut and making your own virgin pressed coconut oil like me?


Till next time... Love your kinks