Coconut Oil or Butter?

[ab_raw]

I get confused between these 2 all the time. I have both products in my house: The coconut oil (Coconut Oil Supreme) is pure white when it is solid and perfectly clear when liquid, and has a very light aroma. The coconut butter (Artisana Coconut Butter) is cream coloured and seems to stay in solid form, even though its been on my counter during hot spells.

So to me they are 2 different products, but I'm not sure which one to use in recipes. For example the Chocolate Hazelnut pie from Cafe Gratitude, do I use the butter or the oil? Or does it matter?

Thanks!

[Veganforlife]

Which does it say to use?

[ab_raw]

Which does it say to use?

For the filling-
½ oz. irish moss
1 ½ cups hazelnut milk*
¼ c. agave nectar
¼ cup packed chopped dates
1/3 c. cacao powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 salt
1 T. + 1 tsp. lecithin
¼ c. + 2 T. unscented coconut butter (oil)****************

See what I mean?

[Veganforlife]

Ah yeah. I'd use the butter. It's gonna give it more flavor and umph!!!

Either would work I'm sure...

GR8! Now you got ME wondering - LOL!!!

[ab_raw]

I guess I'm going to go with the oil, as there is not much scent if any. The butter is definitely more coconutty. (My dd hates coconut, so if I can hide it its good)
I'm sure it will be fine, I've found it's almost impossible to make a bad tasting raw dessert.

But aside from this recipe, there is still some confusion in my mind. I had always thought that coconut butter was simply coconut oil in solid form, but now I'm not so sure.

[Veganforlife]

I was confused at first, but the coconut butter contains bits of coconut where the oil doesn't.

[Mandy]

I spent some time being confused about this too so I googled it. the site I found said that coconut oil and coconut butter are the same thing.

Coconut Butter

Coconut Butter is another name for coconut oil.

You have heard about coconut oil and its multi-faceted benefits and you might also have used it. But some of you might not have heard about Coconut Butter. Again, people in European and cold countries are more familiar with this name than those living in India and other warm countries. What is this coconut butter then? Let us find out.

•Definition: Coconut Butter is another name for Coconut Oil. The reason why it is called Coconut Butter in cold countries is that since coconut oil solidifies below 25oC, it is mostly sold as cubes or chunks, like those of butter, in these countries and hence called Coconut Butter, unlike tropical countries where coconut oil is sold as liquid in bottles or cans (thanks to the heat there) and hence the term “Coconut Butter” is not so popular in those places.
•Properties/Differences with Coconut Oil: Since Coconut Butter and Coconut Oil and one and the same thing, hence it possesses all the physical, chemical, nutritional and medicinal properties of coconut oil, except the physical state (it is solid and the other is liquid).
•Availability: This form of coconut oil is more available in places with cold climate than those with warm climate. If you are residing in India and want to see it (just for the fun), then you can puts some coconut oil in a container and put it in your refrigerator and lo, you have the coconut butter. One more thing! Just like there are Virgin Coconut Oil, Refined Coconut Oil and Organic Coconut Oil, there are Virgin Coconut Butter, Refined Coconut Butter and Organic Coconut Butter.
•Price: Again, not much different from the local price of coconut oil (the packaging and handling differ).
•Uses: All the uses of coconut oil you can think of. Except that when you wish to massage your body with some, you need to melt it first.
•Anything Else: No! Nothing special about it or different from coconut oil. Coconut Butter is just the name of the solid form of coconut oil. So, don’t worry if you are not getting it by its name. Instead, go to the grocer and ask for coconut oil.

http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/coconut-butter.html

[Veganforlife]

Lookie here!

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?p=420181

[Mandy]

I thought the same thing! No wonder there's confusion. So there is coconut butter that has the fibers and stuff in it, but some people refer to coconut oil in it's solid form as coconut butter. I have a feeling that recipe probably was calling for coconut oil if it had that in brackets. I made a to-live-for raw choc. cake by James Russel and i used coconut oil, but I also bought the Artisan coconut butter just in case it didn't work with the oil. I havn't cracked it open yet because after buying it i read that they were the same thing! Ok, I'm diving into that!

[Veganforlife]

YES! Back "in the day" coconut butter AND oil were the same. Butter was at it's solid form and oil when it was warmed.

But now coconut BUTTER has pieces of coconut in it and is a creamier texture. I can eat spoonfuls of coconut butter NOW and cannot eat spoonfuls of solid coconut oil. It's two totally different tastes...

[ab_raw]

Veganforlife, Thanks for that link, it does help to confirm my thoughts on the matter. My cocnut butter looks and tastes quite different from my solid coconut oil.
Anita

[xPIXIEx]

I can eat spoonfuls of coconut butter NOW and cannot eat spoonfuls of solid coconut oil. It's two totally different tastes...


It's yummy stuff, huh? I love the taste of coconut butter.

[RawKnitster]

I guess I'm going to go with the oil, as there is not much scent if any. The butter is definitely more coconutty. (My dd hates coconut, so if I can hide it its good)
I'm sure it will be fine, I've found it's almost impossible to make a bad tasting raw dessert.

But aside from this recipe, there is still some confusion in my mind. I had always thought that coconut butter was simply coconut oil in solid form, but now I'm not so sure.

I was confused by that as well, ended up using the coconut oil I had on hand. It is not unscented but it worked fine.

My logic on it is that while coconut oil can be considered coconut butter.... coconut butter cannot be confused with coconut oil. If you put both products side by side you know what I mean.