Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil~ ends 5/3 11:59pm (eastern time)

Starting off with a little about the Tropical Traditions company and founders.......

When I first read about the wonderful benefits of coconut oil, I asked my wife Marianita, who grew up on a coconut plantation in the Philippines, if there was a more natural way to extract the oil from the coconut, so that we didn’t have to buy the refined coconut oils found in all the stores in the Philippines. She said there was a method the older generation used to extract the oil by grating the fresh coconut, extracting the coconut milk, and then letting the coconut milk stand in a covered container for about 24 hours. After about 24 hours, the oil naturally separates from the water producing a crystal clear oil that retains the full scent and taste of coconuts. So we started making our coconut oil that way and using it for our cooking needs with our three children. We couldn’t believe how wonderful it tasted, and how great we felt. We had been living on Mt. Banahaw in the Philippines for almost two years by that time, and in the year 2000 telephone service was provided to our rural farming community, allowing me to put up a website about our Philippine Herbs. I decided to also put our Virgin Coconut Oil up on the website, not really expecting people to order it because it was a bit expensive since we had to hire people to make the oil, and shipping cost a lot because of the weight. We were so surprised when people started ordering, and then re-ordering it because they felt so great after using it! They told us there was no other coconut oil like it on the market. (See a sample of testimonies below.)

Before long we had businesses contacting us asking how to order it in bulk. So we discussed how we could mass produce this kind of oil, and almost abandoned the product because we didn’t want to lose the traditional way of making it. In the end, we decided to just keep making it the same way, by having others in our coconut community also make the oil the traditional way. Many of our producers are in areas so remote, that if they did not use their coconuts to produce Virgin Coconut oil for us, no one would buy their coconuts because it would cost too much to transport them to manufacturing plants. In these areas, the coconuts generally just fell to the ground unused until we started training people to make our Virgin Coconut Oil. We were the first ones to export Virgin Coconut Oil from the Philippines to the US market. The success overwhelmed us.

Today, more than 10 years later, there are other companies now selling coconut oil again in the US, most of them mass-produced by machines from dried coconut. But we are committed to time-honored traditional practices that have produced healthy coconut oil for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Our Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is still produced by hand, using the wet-milling process of extracting the oil from fresh coconuts. Our producers have learned a lot of things over the years, since most of them have been producing this oil for over 10 years now. They have learned how to pick out the best coconuts from each harvest that produce the best quality oil, for example.Independent laboratory analysis shows this to be one of the highest quality coconut oils on the market, having the highest levels of antioxidants. This enhanced Virgin Coconut Oil is now in the US market under the Tropical Traditions Gold Label brand. It meets our strictest standards to earn this designation. Today when you buy Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, you are buying the highest quality coconut oil we have to offer, and it is still made by hand and benefiting families in the rural areas of the Philippines where the coconuts grow.

Brian Shilhavy, Founder, Tropical Traditions, Inc.

Is Virgin Coconut Oil the healthiest oil on earth?
Read the coconut oil research here!

Characteristics of Our Gold Label® Virgin Coconut Oil This Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is a truly unrefined coconut oil. This coconut oil is made on Mt. Banahaw and surrounding areas from organic coconuts. Coconuts are used fresh (within 24-48 hours of harvest) from small family farms on Mt. Banahaw and other rural places in Quezon Province, the coconut capital of the Philippines. Only the highest quality coconuts are hand-picked from each harvest. The volcanic soil of Mt. Banahaw makes these organic coconuts some of the most nutritionally rich coconuts in the world! Testing done in independent laboratories on coconut oil antioxidants reveals higher levels of phenolic antioxidants than other coconut oils.  The fresh coconut meat is shredded (wet milled), and then cold-pressed using the water from inside the coconuts to make coconut milk. The milk is then allowed to sit for about half a day, while the oil naturally separates from the heavier water. The oil is then filtered from the curds (coconut solids). No chemical or high-heat treatment is used, and this oil contains no trans fatty acids. We do NOT mass produce this oil. It is made by families who are coconut farmers using old-fashioned traditional methods that have been used in the Philippines for hundreds of years. Our coconut trees and family producers are certified organic according to strict USDA standards. The families who produce the oil are also trained according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards and re-certified each year. This high-grade Virgin Coconut Oil has a long shelf life due to the high antioxidant properties. The Gold Label Standard is our highest standard for Virgin Coconut Oil. Read more.

Ok on to what we got to Test out and Review.. The Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil .

Our thoughts~
Well first of off after a lot of discussion I think I am more of a refined version of coconut oil I like coconut don't get me wrong and I did test this out in a few recipes but I think the refined with out the coconut taste would have been a little better for both recipes.  Though I do have to say the Chocolate chip cookie dough Truffle Recipe from their page that I made didn't taste like Chocolate Chip cookies so much as a mound Candy bar.. Both Delicious but an unexpected discovery.. I feel like I want to try it with the refined to get the real Cookie dough taste. What can I say I am a sucker for the cookie dough.. :D Also next time I need to make the balls smaller.  :D  Mine were just a tad big and more than a tummy full when you made it through.  Had to split it with the boys.   See photo.

Second Recipe we tested these in were a Homemade Granola bar recipe posted below.  We put the Coconut oil in the place of the oil in the recipe and yum.. Again very coconutty (lol not sure if that is a correct word, but it is now mine)  but good, though again I will like to try it with the refined to see the taste difference.  But if you are a major Coconut Lover go nuts this Gold Label version really kicks in the Coconut taste and power and is amazingly delicious in its own right.

Note to self use parchment paper next go round.  These are a beast to get out of the pan.

Overall I really enjoy this company they have amazing customer service and you can get your coconut oil in large batches for those of you who cook exclusively with Coconut oil.



The Recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles are on Tropical Traditions site the link is above.  But here is what I did to make the Granola bars.

Chewy Granola Bars

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup of Honey
1/4 Cup of Coconut oil
1 Cup Quick Oats
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

1.  In a Sauce pan melt PB, Honey and oil Together.

2.  Take off Heat, add Oats and Chips

3.  Spread in 8x8 pan

4.  Chill 2 hours.

Easy Peasy.  Honestly don't know where the recipe originated from my friend Anita brought it over and we substituted out the regular oil for Coconut oil and ended up using other chips like pb chips and such since we ran out of mini chocolate chips.. :D

Win 1 quart of  Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America's source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil? You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the  advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

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