What happens when virgin coconut oil is heated? Will it become hydrogenated?
Coconut oil is not easily damaged by heat. (It has a smoking point of 177C. No cooking oil should be heated above its smoking point.) VCO does not readily oxidise like unsaturated oils do when heated, leading to free-radical formation. It is the ideal oil for deep frying and is safe to use several times over. Hydrogenation is not caused by heating coconut oil during cooking. Hydrogenation is an industrial process where hydrogen is introduced into an oil to artificially saturate it so that it will be solid at room temperature. It alters the chemical structure of the oil and creates harmful trans-fatty acids. It is perfectly safe to heat coconut oil for cooking.
