Attempting to make coconut oil

cracked open coconuts
Edible coconut oil is almost non-existent to purchase in Costa Rica. I say that because every couple of months someone on the Yahoo Costa Rica Living forum I follow asks where to buy it. It sounds like there is someone in the country with the machinery to do this on a commercial scale, however his equipment is broken and has been for a long time. Many people have resorted to purchasing the oil on the internet and importing it to the country. That whole process is not cheap. I decided to look into making it myself.

Both young and mature coconuts can be purchased at just about any produce store. I found a video on the internet showing how to make the oil just by using a blender. I thought I would give it a try. Cracking open and getting the flesh out of the nuts took some time and skill. Next, I ground the flesh in the blender, adding a little water, strained the mixture and let the liquid sit in the refrigerator overnight. The oil was supposed to separate and float on the top of the liquid.

It did not work. The next morning I checked the liquid and from what I could see there was a tiny, small amount of oil from the four coconuts I processed. Not even worth trying to save and use for something. Instead I was left with a bunch of delicious coconut milk that I used in various recipes over the next few days.  Today I purchased more coconuts for my next experiment to try making coconut butter. If my blender is up for the task then I think I will be more successful.