I agree with his observation that all of us in the islands know about eating it, but how do we make it?

The easiest –– is the same old way since the first garden days - (it wasn’t an apple - friends - it was a coconut!)

Virgin coconut oil is already in the flesh of a ripe coconut. If you have a machine extractor (like mine) you will get a coconut cream fluid that is about 50 per cent virgin oil and 50 per cent water.

If you buy a couple dozen fresh nuts and hand scrape, then squeeze as much as possible through a muslin or grog cloth, adding a bit of water, you will get about 2 litres of nice creamy lolo.

The only difference - the virgin oil content of your cream will be only about half of mine.

This is still considered “cream” and must have minimum 20 per cent oil to be labelled as such.

Look at the tin you buy and it will always show “oil fat” content.

Those called “milk” have less than 20 per cent oil content.

Interestingly, the only one not properly labelled is our own home grown brand - bending the rules are we gang?

Better not export or you will be in breach of International “Codex” agreements.

Locally, I guess no one cares or is monitoring such things.

If you cover your lolo and leave it in the sun all day and overnight, the water will start settling in the bottom of your container and beautiful clear, slightly sweet fresh virgin oil will start settling on the top. This is called “natural separation” and is nature’s way of giving us a pure and wholesome virgin coconut oil.

No tricks - no heat - no machinery or food processing.

Leave it too long and it will ferment from bacteria growing in the water.

You start carefully spooning or collecting the top layer of oil without disturbing the bottom layers of thick cream and water.

Eventually, most of the oil will separate and come to the top but there are some modern ways to help old nana nature.

One (mostly for urban dwellers) is to freeze the fresh lolo- first - then thaw it out. I find this speeds up the separation time (after thawing) and sweetens the results.

The traditional village way is to boil the water out of the lolo. This works okay, but if you take your eye off the pot you will scorch the sediment that settles when the water has boiled out.

This gives an off colour and smoky or scorched aroma.

The virgin oil was there originally but got tainted by a bad cook.

A word to our “bush” producers and “hot plate” technicians - please realise that - if you put coconut oil on our bodies - it is a food product - not cosmetic. If you are selling it you must comply with hygienic processing methods and regulations.

Same goes for those who buy bush and mix it into their cosmetic formulas.

A popular way to make fresh coconut oil in South East Asia is called “dry-frying”.

They grate the meat; same as we do and then stir fry it in oil in a big wok or commercial deep fryer.

As the water boils off the amount of oil increases and clumps of cake meal are removed and its oil is squeezed out.

The heating temperature is very low (120°) and I’m not sure if this disqualifies virginity but it sure tastes good.

In Philippines and Indonesia they wouldn’t cook with anything else.

Finally, eating the fresh coconut fruit will give you the highest possible quality and percentage of virgin coconut oil.

Your body will process and separate it for you and will do a far better job than any man-made idea or contraption. Enjoy!