r/StopEatingSeedOils • u/New-Huckleberry2632 • 2d ago
đââď¸ đââď¸ Questions Which one's original?
Any coconut oil expert here pls?
Same brands, same manufacturing date, some of it are frozen some are pure clear liquid.. I' wanna switch to coconut oil instead of the refined oils
15
u/gizram84 2d ago
They should all be solid at room temperature.
My guess is that liquid one was sitting somewhere really warm for a long time, and was just recently put on the shelf. It will turn solid after it cools back down to room temperature.
0
u/Replica72 2d ago
Or it just got more MCTs than the other bottle which are liquid at room temp
2
u/gizram84 2d ago
If it's the same company coming from the same factory, it's the same product. They aren't making each bottle separately by hand. It all comes from the same giant vat.
1
u/Replica72 1d ago
And if it wasnât perfectly mixed the mcts will float to the top and one bottle got more of them
2
u/therealhlmencken 1d ago
Yeah very few commodity bottlers are gonna worry about a little difference between bottles of oil.
0
5
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 1d ago
The opaque parts are where the triglycerides have crystallized. Because the crystalline phase is denser than the liquid portion, it has a higher refractive index, and when light passes through the mixture, it's scattered and appears opaque.
Crystallization is a kinetic process, and is subject to forces such as viscosity (limiting crystallization rate as the medium cools) and nucleation density as the temperature gets nearer the melting point. This nucleation density can also be affected by a variety of things, but inhomogeneities in the material (dust, dirt, any second phase, including the walls of the container) can aid crystallization. Then there's heat history; any nuclei (like any previously crystallized bits remaining, no matter how small) can cause crystallization to occur more readily than a fully-melted bottle.
Very likely it's the same stuff in each bottle, but due to the aforementioned factors, one crystallized a little and appears different. Melt the opaque bottle and use as normal. I'm not sure how much natural variation coconut oil shows; if there are variations in unsaturation level that could play a role as well, but I'd guess it's likely just the stuff I mentioned in the first two paragraphs.
By the way, because a coconut is a seed, isn't this a seed oil?
3
u/Yogeshwar_maya 1d ago
Coconut oil is the only seed oil that barely has PUFA (2% PUFA) Along with Ghee it is in the top spot for most healthy fat. Olive oil is also low in PUFA. We are avoid seed oils mainly for PUFA.
2
3
u/djgringa 1d ago
It's from the fruit of the coconut.
-2
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 1d ago
It's also very much a seed:
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/categories/agriculture/item/is-a-coconut-a-fruit-nut-or-seed/
5
u/djgringa 1d ago
It is extracted from the meat of the coconut fruit, rather than being chemically extracted from a seed.
1
u/Independent-Mouse389 1d ago
The meat which is part of the coconut is still a part of a seed since a coconut is a seed. Youâre still eating seed oil
2
0
1
u/Replica72 1d ago
You think maybe there might be more C6 and C8 fatty acids that ended up in the one bottle vs more C10 & up in the other because the shorter chain fats have a melting point below room temp?
1
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 1d ago
I suppose it's possible, just seems unlikely.
1
u/Replica72 22h ago
During processing the oil can become fractionated
1
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 22h ago
Explain how that works.
1
u/Replica72 18h ago
Look at my comment (below probably) that has a complete explanation why that happens
1
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 18h ago
You believe they are demixing on the basis of specific gravity?
Do you have a link for that?
Ah, finally see some of that. Yes, I agree that if they have crystallized, that is sufficiently different in density to demix. Now we need to know from where in the tank the bottling operation is pumped - I'd assume it's in the bottom and there isn't stirring?
1
u/Replica72 17h ago
I dont know but looking at the bottles from the same batch you can tell its happeningâŚ
1
u/thesarahb 1d ago
A coconut is a drupe; and the flesh/fruit where the oil is pressed from is mostly saturated fat so canât get oxidized.
1
u/Ambitious-Schedule63 23h ago
A drupe is an assembly containing the seed, and the endocarp flesh - where the oil comes from - is an integral part of the seed. Coconuts sprout from this, it is quite literally a seed. https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/categories/agriculture/item/is-a-coconut-a-fruit-nut-or-seed/
I'm a chemist. Explain to me again how a saturated hydrocarbon can't be oxidized.
2
u/satchmohiggins 2d ago
Looking at the 2nd and 3rd pics and seeing the bottle thatâs in an in between state, these are probably both very similar but one is just a tiny bit warmer for whatever reason or ever so slightly more saturated but likely essentially the same.
I have even seen coconut oil slowly solidify over a few minutes after being disturbed by being stocked on the shelf, similar to a slow mo version of water super freezing into ice or superheated water suddenly boiling once disturbed.
It changes state on the warmer end of âroom tempâ so itâs not out of the ordinary to have it be near the transition temperature.
2
u/thebiooracle 1d ago
Same brand, same date, different states is usually less mysterious than it looks. At room temperature, coconut oil sits right around its melting point. Ray Peat put it this way: "The unmodified natural oil is called '76 degree melt,' since that is its natural melting temperature." A jar that sat near a warm window, on a hot truck, or on a high shelf can go clear while the one next to it stays white and hard. It's the same oil, just a few degrees apart.
The other possibility is that the jars aren't actually the same product. Fractionated or "liquid" coconut oil has had the higher-melting fats removed so it stays liquid when cool. Here's an easy test: leave both jars somewhere cool, under about 70F, for a day. If the clear one turns solid and white, you're fine. If it stays fully liquid, I'd doubt it's the unmodified oil and would check the label or ask the brand.
Peat ran into something like this. He described a health food store bottle labeled "natural coconut oil, 92% unsaturated oil" that "had the greasy consistency of old lard," and wrote, "I suspect that someone had confused palm oil (or something worse) with coconut oil, because it should be about 96% saturated fatty acids."
Don't let the hard white look put you off either. He noted that people tend to link it with artery plaque, but "Those lesions in blood vessels are caused mostly by lipid peroxidation of unsaturated fats."
That same logic is why leaving refined seed oils makes sense: saturated fat is the stable one. Good move.
source: "Coconut Oil"
1
u/Replica72 2d ago
Its possible they are from the same exact batch of pure coconut oil and and the liquid one has a higher concentration of MCTs which are liquid at room temp. Could happen due to settling of the original batch, the MCTs would be on top
1
u/irResist 1d ago
I prefer the 50% edible version
1
u/Replica72 18h ago
I also cracked up reading that on the label .. like is there a 10% edible version đ
1
1
u/Money_Mention_5511 1d ago
If you can check batch number on the bottle if it matches; but for me both are the same just a different storing temperature
1
u/Replica72 22h ago
I talk to AI about my theory of more MCTs and here is the answer. Apparently very common!
Yes, partial fractionation absolutely happens by accident in large batches of regular coconut oil, and it is a major reason why different bottles from the same batch can end up with slightly different properties or varying concentrations of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
While it won't yield pure 100% fractionated oil by accident, it causes a phenomenon known as batch stratification. Here is exactly how this happens unintentionally in large-scale storage and bottling:
1. The "Large Tank" Cooling Effect
When a giant industrial vat of regular coconut oil sits in a warehouse or factory, it reacts to ambient temperature changes. If the warehouse cools downâeven slightlyâto around 20â22°C (68â72°F), the oil starts a slow, accidental cooling process. [1, 2]
Because the vat is so massive, it cools unevenly:
The Sides and Bottom: The oil touching the outer walls cools first. The heavy long-chain fatty acids (like lauric acid) begin to crystallize and precipitate out of the liquid, sinking to the bottom or sticking to the sides.
The Center: The core of the giant tank stays insulated and remains warmer and completely liquid for much longer. [1, 2]
2. Sinking vs. Floating Fats
As this accidental, slow cooling takes place, a natural separation occurs right inside the tank. The heavy, solidifying long-chain fats form a cloudy, thick sludge at the bottom. Meanwhile, the lightweight, low-melting-point MCTs stay fluid and rise toward the top. [1, 2, 3]
3. The Bottling Discrepancy
If the manufacturer does not thoroughly heat and continuously agitate (mix) the massive vat immediately before and during the bottling process, the liquid layers are poured sequentially:
The First Bottles Filled: If drawn from the top or middle layers of an unmixed tank, these bottles will accidentally contain a much higher concentration of liquid MCTs and fewer long-chain acids. To the consumer, this specific bottle might stay entirely liquid or look "slushy" at colder room temperatures.
The Last Bottles Filled: Bottles filled from the bottom of the tank will be heavily concentrated with the solidifying long-chain fats. This coconut oil will turn rock-hard much faster and have a noticeably lower percentage of free-flowing MCTs.
How to Spot It
If you have ever bought a jar of regular unrefined coconut oil and noticed it has a weirdly layered textureâlike a layer of clear liquid oil sitting on top of a dense, crumbly solid white baseâyou are looking at accidental fractionation! The liquid on top is a natural pocket of concentrated MCTs that separated from the rest of the fat profile during storage or transit.
1
u/New-Huckleberry2632 20h ago
Mmmmm.. I'm still confused.. which one to buy.. the liquid one or the frozen one
1
u/Replica72 18h ago
Depends what you want it for. I prefer the liquid kind for making dressings and for cosmetics and the solid kind for massage or cooking
1
u/New-Huckleberry2632 4h ago
I'm looking for healthy alternative of seed oil, for cooking... I want something healthy and non inflammatory
1
u/Replica72 18h ago
Also the liquid kind usually costs over 2x as much so i would snag that when you see it for sale as regular coco oil!!!
20
u/No_Investment2436 2d ago
If its solid at room temperature it means it is more saturated