A couple of days ago, I finally got my hands on two products I’ve wanted to try for some time: coconut oil and stevia. Coconut oil (cold pressed, virgin) contains mostly saturated medium-chain fatty acids, predominantly lauric acid. It is solid at room temperature, opaque and white. It has no taste or odour. Like ghee (clarified butter), it can withstand very high temperatures and is thus very useful in cooking. The reason it is more stable at high temperatures is because of its saturated fats. I bought a brand called Cocosa. I used it this evening to make a curry and I must say, I was very impressed! I cooked the spices at a high temperature without any sign of burning and the resulting flavour was fantastic! The jar I bought cost about €10 for 500gm, so it’s not cheap. But, it is useful if you need to cook at high temperatures. Of course, you can make your own ghee from unsalted butter, but butter has a less favourable fatty acid profile than coconut; it contains 12-15% medium-chain fatty acids, while coconut contains about 45%.
These fatty acids (medium chain) also have antimicrobial, antitumor and immune-system-supporting properties, especially 12-carbon lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid not found in other animal fats. Highly protective lauric acid should be called a conditionally essential fatty acid because it is made only by the mammary gland and not in the liver like other saturated fats.65 We must obtain it from one of two dietary sources—small amounts in butterfat or large amounts in coconut oil. (http://www.greenpasture.org/products/butter_oil/properties)
Stevia is a plant native to Central and South America. It is known for it’s sweetening properties. I was surprised to find it on the shelf as it is supposedly banned for use in food in the EU due to concerns about the possibly carcinogenic metabolic by-products of its breakdown. I bought a small bottle of 20% concentrate, with alcohol and water. I tasted some straight and found that it does taste sweet - not sugary though - and that the concentrated product does have a funny aniseed-y aftertaste. I put two or three drops in my coffee and must say that it did sweeten it, but not in a sugary way. I dunno. I love honey, not sugar. I am not sure if stevia can replace the complex and subtle sweetening of a good honey, but it’s handy to have on hand.
Overall, it’s nice to come across an ever-increasing range of healthy products here on the Costa Blanca.