If you haven’t tried coconut butter, I really think you ought to drop everything, rush out to your nearest healthy food store, and buy some. Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come off as pushy, but I am seriously having a love affair with this stuff and I want to spread the good news! Not that affairs are always good news, but…well….nevermind.
Anyway, here’s the scoop about this amazing stuff: it’s made from coconut meat, and THAT’S IT. It tastes like….candy. No, better than candy (did I just say that?), it tastes like a rainbow of creamy goodness. Uh, yeah. You can use coconut butter as a dip, a spread, or just as a delicious something to put in your mouth straight out of the jar (but don’t eat the whole jar at once, you might feel kind of sick after that, trust me). The best part about this stuff is that in addition to being super tasty, it’s quite good for you. Coconut contains naturally occurring saturated fat that is great for your body and lends itself to improving heart health, increasing metabolism, and supporting your immune system, among other things. Dr. Mercola has a pretty good article on the benefits of coconut oil here (yes, I know, I know, it’s the Huffington Post). Though coconut butter is not coconut oil, it still supplies those benefits to your body (just to a lesser extent because it isn’t as highly compressed).
In the US, I think they call coconut butter “coconut cream concentrate”. At least, that’s what I’ve come to understand. Perhaps there are just two names, just to make people think they’re losing their minds. Many times I would read over a recipe on some paleo recipe website and think “I’ve never heard of coconut cream concentrate, what on earth are they talking about?”. Another thing to note is that coconut butter hardens up pretty easily. Since I live in Canada, it’s rarely the temperature here where the butter is easily spreadable. I like to put the jar in a pot of hot water for a while before attempting to use it for anything (otherwise you’ll be attacking it with a fork just to get anything out of that jar). When you first buy it, there will most likely be a layer of oil on top (just like any nut butter), so you can mix that in once it’s mixable.
As for brands, there are a few out there. I like the Artisana brand (as shown in the picture. Yes, I have it at work with me all the time, what of it?!) because the coconut meat used is raw and organic and there is only the one ingredient. There’s also the Nutiva brand called “Coconut Manna”, which is pretty good as well. Or, you could be amazing and make your own! Melissa over at theclothesmakethegirl.com has made an easy recipe for doing so.
The only places on the Island at which I’ve been able to find this stuff have been natural food stores, such as: Lifestyle Markets in Victoria, the Community Farm Store in Duncan, Edible Island in Courtenay, Island Natural Markets in Nanaimo, Healthyway Natural Foods Market in Campbell River, and Heaven on Earth Natural Foods in Qualicum Beach. Of course, if you live in the Lower Mainland you can probably find them at your local Whole Foods (of which I am jealous). If you don’t live on the Island or in the Lower Mainland, you can try calling your local health food store and seeing if they have it, or just order the stuff online!
The Primal Islander 