There are two main issues in VCO production: Oil Extraction & Drying. Oil extraction is key because VCO, unlike Refined-Bleached-Deodorized (RBD) oil or cooking oil, cannot come from copra. Drying, on the other hand, is critical since the VCO has to have very low moisture to keep it from spoiling (i.e. for longer shelf-life).

Oil Extraction (MeritVCO is made using WET Method)

There are two ways by which VCO is produced: the DRY method & the WET method.

• The DRY method includes VCO produced via direct oil expelling. Direct oil expelling requires that the coconut meat from fresh coconuts be dried so that oil can be pressed out (by mechanical means) from the dried meat. This is why the technique is also referred to as fresh-dry or quick-dry. Solar drying is typical of the technique but others use coconut husks/shells as heat source for drying pans/ovens. Big desiccated coconut manufacturers use this same method for their VCO, drying the meat by steam using huge industrial apron dryers. Many of the VCOs in the market produced via this method are often referred to as cold-pressed VCO – likening the technique perhaps to cold-pressed olive oil that is pressed out directly from olives or olive mash (although the olives/mash are not dried).

• The WET method includes VCO produced from fresh coconut milk. Producers sometimes refer to this technique, or variants of it, as wet-milling, wet process, or even cold process (also perhaps because the coconut meat is not dried). VCO from the WET method include: those produced using the fermentation technique, enzymatic approach, “cooking” technique & centrifuge method. These techniques use coconut milk obtained by pressing out the milk from fresh coconut meat (not dried like those from the DRY method). The difference lies in the manner by which the oil is extracted from the coconut milk emulsion. The fermentation & “cooking” techniques are the traditional ways oil are produced in the Philippines & most coconut-producing countries. The fermentation technique calls for settling or separation of the oil from the “water” by allowing the coconut milk to “ferment” - thus breaking the emulsion. The “cooking” technique, on the other hand, introduces heat to the equation – to break the emulsion & extract the oil. The “cooking” technique, thus, simply meant boiling off the water in coconut milk for hours in a pot. The enzymatic approach is an improvement to these methods, the introduction of enzymes is said to speed-up settling/fermentation & improve the oil yield. The centrifuge method, on the other hand, is where technology meets tradition. A mechanical centrifuge is used to accelerate settling & separation, with the very powerful centrifugal forces generated by a centrifuge—breaking the emulsion & separating the oil in a matter of minutes.

Drying (VCO Moisture Reduction)

Whichever method used to extract the oil (DRY or WET), the next critical step is drying the oil. The moisture content of VCO should be very, very low (below 0.2%) to keep the oil from going rancid, or rather, to prolong the oil’s shelf life. The lower the moisture content the better.

Most VCO are dried by cooking or heating (by direct heat or through the use of double-boilers or steam-jacketed kettles), exposure to warm(ed) or heat(ed) air, clarification (a series of settling & decanting steps), or vacuum drying/evaporation (i.e. very efficient drying at very low temperatures – since water could actually be boiled-off even at room temperature … in a vacuum). ■