Before I get into this Carrington Farms Coconut Oil review, let me just touch on who Carrington Farms are and why they are one of the top coconut oil brands in the country.
Carrington Farms are pretty much a household name when it comes to coconut oil.
Their organic, unrefined, cold pressed, virgin coconut oil is sourced from coconuts in the Philippines, and it adheres to quality standards by passing all supplement grade testing.
More than is needed for the food industry, in fact.
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Since 2000, Carrington Farms has been making 100% organic, non-genetically modified health food products accessible to nutrition-conscious consumers around the United States.
Their comprehensive line of grains, seeds, powders and oils including coconut oil serves a range of purposes, from conditioning hair and nails to cooking and adding a boost to your smoothies.
Click here to check out the price of Carrington Farms Coconut Oil on Amazon
Quick review summary:
To summarize this Carrington Farms Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil review, I thought it might be a good idea to just quote a review from a recent customer.
PROS
- Made from high quality coconuts from the Philippines
- Versatility: this light, clean tasting oil is perfect for cooking, baking, but can also be used as a beauty product.
- Nutrient dense – This is an organic & unrefined oil that is cold pressed to preserve all nutrients and MCTs (medium chain triglycerides)
- Chemical Free – Carrington Farms coconut oil is Hexane free and the convenient packaging is BPA free.
CONS
- Some people have reported inconsistent quality.
Carrington Farms Organic Coconut Oil Features
- Humanitarian – You’re helping others with your purchase. It will help feed 250 kids three days a week through the Carrington Cares program. (The kids are part of the local community in the Philippines where the company sources their coconuts from).
- Amazing quality – Carrington Farms organic, unrefined, cold pressed, gluten free, extra virgin coconut oil is made from the best coconuts in the Philippines
- Versatile – the light, clean coconut taste of the oil is perfect for various things, from sauteing vegetables to baking or even using it as a beauty product for the skin or hair, or take it as a superfood.
- Packed with nutrients – Every package of Carrington Farms is organic, unrefined, and cold pressed to preserve MCTs and other nutrients. No hydrogenated fats here!
- Unparalleled standards – The Carrington Farms coconut oil is filtered four times before being shipped, going through multiple testing – more than the required average in the food industry.
- Free from chemicals – Everything from the oil itself to the packaging is free of chemicals and healthy. This means no BPA, no Hexane or other chemicals or bad stuff for you. Only the natural thing!
My Carrington Farms Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil review
Carrington Farms Coconut Oil is incredibly popular.
It’s full of the best kinds of saturated fat and metabolism-boosting medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), and it holds up well under the heat of cooking. It’s a versatile, ancient oil that works well in everything from smoothies to homemade french fries.
Plus it’s inexpensive which is always a good thing!
But how do people pick the best, most healthy coconut oil?
How did they know whether to get a refined or unrefined oil? What do all those labels like “virgin”, “extra-virgin”, and “expeller-pressed” mean?
What’s the difference between the cheap coconut oil I see on my grocery store shelf and the high-quality oil I can buy online?
The two broadest categories of coconut oil are refined and unrefined.
Once you choose whether or not you want a refined or unrefined coconut oil, you’ll need to choose which method of extraction suits your tastes and purposes.
And finally, always keep in mind the issues in the “things to watch out for” paragraphs below.
For example, let’s say you decided you want an expeller-pressed, refined coconut oil. You can find a good quality one that’s been refined using a natural, chemical-free cleaning process and a relatively low-temperature extraction.
Or you can find one that’s been refined from rancid oil byproducts using a chemical cleaning process.
Both oils are expeller-pressed and refined, but one is good quality and one is cheap and just plain nasty.
Refined coconut oil vs. unrefined coconut oil
One thing I’ve learned is that you really need to understand the difference between refined and unrefined oils.
Let me explain.
Refined Coconut Oil – A refined coconut oil is usually tasteless and odorless.
Because it’s refined, it can usually withstand slightly higher cooking temperatures before reaching its smoke point. Refined coconut oils are excellent for cooking foods where you need lots of clean, pure, malleable fat without a dominating coconut flavor. (Think pie crusts or french fries.)
Refined coconut oils don’t offer the same health benefits of a virgin, completely raw coconut oil however, but they’re still excellent sources of most of the beneficial fatty acids (like MCTs).
As a given, almost all the coconut oils available in your grocery store or vitamin store are refined unless they specifically say otherwise on their label.
Things to watch out for: not all refined coconut oils are alike! Most are refined using a chemical distillation process dependent on lye or other harsh solvents, or they’re made from the rancid oil byproducts leftover from creating dessicated (dry) coconut flakes.
Sadly, these are refined, bleached, and deodorized in an effort to create a palatable product that can be sold to consumers.
Many coconut oils are even hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated! (Avoid these at all costs as the hydrogenation process creates synthetic trans-fats.)
However, there are some quality, non-hydrogenated refined coconut oils available that are refined using a natural, chemical-free cleaning process (usually involving steam and/or diatomaceous earth).
Unrefined Coconut Oil – An unrefined coconut oil is typically labeled “virgin” or “extra-virgin.”
To my knowledge, there’s no consistent difference between virgin and extra-virgin coconut oils across all brands. Each brand tends to have their own definition of these labels.
In general, though, virgin and extra-virgin coconut oils are made from the first pressing of fresh, raw coconut without the addition of any chemicals.
Things to watch out for: Depending on how the oil is extracted, the flavor can be very intense or very mild.
In general, the more heat the oil was exposed to, the stronger the coconut flavor. (In the past, I’ve bought some extra-virgin, expeller-pressed coconut oil that tasted “toasted” for lack of a better word.)
So, a truly raw, unrefined, virgin coconut oil will have a very mild coconut flavor and scent.
Methods of extraction
Once you’ve chosen between wanting a refined or unrefined oil, you will need to decide between extraction methods.
Cold-pressed, expeller-pressed, and centrifuged are your options.
These are methods of extracting the oil from the dry or fresh coconut and can be found in both refined and unrefined varieties. Generally speaking, all methods can create a tasty, good, healthy oil.
Things to watch out for: Expeller-pressed and cold-pressed don’t necessarily mean “raw.”
These oils can be heated to rather high temperatures during the extraction process (even up to 200F) sometimes. The temperatures alone aren’t enough to make the oils go rancid, since coconut oil is such a stable fat and can withstand high heat well.
But as I mentioned earlier, the more heat used in extracting the oil, the more coconut-y or “toasted” the flavor will become.
A centrifuged oil is less likely to be exposed to much heat in the extraction process, so it will taste more mild and delicate.
Keeping the above information in mind below is what I think the people who now purchase Carrington Farms Gluten Free, Unrefined, Cold Pressed, Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil took into consideration before purchasing.
Coconut oil is a great alternative to many products
Coconut oil can be used as an alternative to butter, fat, or vegetable oil when cooking or baking.
It can also be used as an ingredient in natural beauty products or alone as a skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, cracked heel balm or face wash.
Carrington Farms coconut oil ingredients
100% unrefined organic, extra virgin coconut oil.
Coconut oil has a score of 0, indicating low hazard, in the Skin-Deep database.
Carrington Farms coconut oil uses
Cooking and Baking – Carrington Farms Coconut Oil can be used as a healthy and delicious replacement for butter or fat when cooking or baking.
I saw where one reviewer used this coconut oil as a substitute for butter in cinnamon rolls and cream cheese frosting which was interesting.
They liked the coconut oil in the dough, but they did not care for it as much in the frosting. It gave the frosting a clear transparent look. They said it might work well if you use less than the amount of butter that the cream cheese frosting recipe calls for.
Organic coconut oil is also perfect for greasing baking pans, instead of using vegetable shortening.
Carrington Farms coconut oil as a skin moisturizer
Coconut oil can be used as an excellent natural skin moisturizer.
The best time to apply coconut oil is right after a bath or shower, to lock moisture into your skin.
One customer even said that their sister-in-law has been using this organic coconut oil on her pregnant belly to prevent stretch marks as it soaks in nicely and does not leave her skin feeling too greasy.
Related reading: Best Coconut Oils for Eczema
Carrington Farms coconut oil as hair conditioner
Yep… hair conditioner!
You can use coconut oil to give your hair the shine it deserves and get it back on track. One of the reviewers actually described the process she went through.
She then melted 2 tsp of coconut oil and applied it to her dry hair. Then worked a little bit of the coconut oil into her hair at a time, starting at the roots and working down her hair.
This customer said that the coconut aroma was wonderful as the oil soaked into her hair and scalp for an hour. She then washed her hair twice in the shower.
Her hair stayed oily looking for the rest of the day.
After one more washing, the oily appearance was gone, and her hair was left shiny.
It’s best to use coconut oil as hair conditioner when you do not have anywhere important to go the next day!
Things I noticed about Carrington Farms organic coconut oil
As soon as I opened the jar, I smelled a wonderful coconut aroma.
I tasted a little bit of the oil, but the texture was not pleasant for eating it straight.
It has a similar consistency to vegetable shortening.
Coconut oil is a wonderful multipurpose natural product. Its excellent as a substitute for butter or oil in baked goods, leaving a slight coconut flavor.
It is also a terrific moisturizer for skin and hair.
Carrington Farms pure, unrefined, cold pressed, 100% organic extra virgin coconut oil gains its first star for being made from natural ingredients.
It earns half a star for the packaging, since the plastic tub is recyclable and re-usable.
Also, buying a large container such as the 54 Ounce one reduces the amount of packaging used.
Carrington Farms coconut oil receives another star for effectiveness as it works great both in food and as a beauty product ingredient and it is also good value for your money when compared to other brands.
This organic coconut oil is also a pleasure to use.
I love the coconut smell while scooping it out of the container.
It may be in a semi-liquid or solid state, depending upon the temperature in the room. It is easier to scoop out when it is warmer. There have been reports of inconsistency in quality, but I never had any reasons to complain. Therefore…
Overall, Carrington Farms organic coconut oil earns 5 stars and is highly recommended! Click here to check its price on Amazon.