Cocavo - Light product reviews

I've used coconut oil once before to make a specific recipe and for the life of me I can't remember what it was, so the opportunity to try this Light Cocavo Coconut and Avocado Oil blend was going to be a challenge for me to try with my everyday cooking.

The pot the oil comes in is a basic pottle with an eye-catching Cocavo logo featuring a coconut shell and a avocado half which I think gives a great visual to customers what is inside the packaging. In saying that I was not really sure what I was suspecting about the colour inside but it is very pale green which on reflection would be the colour of green avocado mixed with the white of coconut, simple really.

I decided to use the oil all week in my cooking to see what I thought about its versatility, so steak, roast potatoes, meatloaf and fried sausages were some of the food that were cooked with the Cocavo oil and it got easier and easier with no smoky residue when cooking and no aftertaste at all on my food.

Cocavo oil is not cheap but it is very useful as you tend to use less than conventional vegetable oil in cooking, so that does counteract the price difference somewhat. I think people who appreciate good quality ingredients in their cooking would be very interested in this oil and after using this for the past week or so, this may be me as well.

I read up on other uses for coconut oil and I discovered cold pressed soap, so I am going to use that on the soap that I intend to start making. I have bought all the items to start making my own soap so I am really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Watch this space.

I love discovering new products to cook with, and particularly those which have multiple uses. I have previously used coconut oil in both cooking and baking. I loved how versatile it was, and how easy it was to cook with, as well as being such a natural unrefined product. However, I was always slightly concerned about the saturated fat content, and so I have tended to use it sparingly. I was so excited to hear about Cocavo - a combination of extra virgin coconut oil and extra virgin avocado oil. I was particularly excited to see this light version, and so was really excited to receive a batch to review.

The first thing that I did when I received the tub, was to have a look at the nutritional information. I was hopeful as the side of the packet said that it contained 'less saturated fat than coconut oil', but I wanted to see for myself what the tub contained. I was pleasantly surprised to see that, even when compared to the olive and rice bran oils which I have in my cupboard, both the energy and fat were comparable. Already I was feeling really good about using the product.

The tub itself is a really useful size. Really easy to store and easily stackable with similar products (which is useful if, like me, you are a little short on cupboard space). The tub is also really distinctive- very easy to find in amongst other things and easy and practical with a resealable lid.

Now, let's talk about the product itself. The colour, when you first see it, could be quite a shock as it looks more like an avocado than a coconut. The green/yellow tinge to the solid oil was a bit of a shock, but once you melt it, it turns completely clear. I have used this oil for both general cooking and sweet and savoury baking. I have found it a really neutral oil, and a very easy substitute for most recipes. I have also found that a little goes a very long way, and we are not yet halfway through a tub, being used for almost two weeks for all of our cooking. That seems like very good value for money to me, even compared to a standard cooking oil which wouldn't give you the benefits of these more natural unrefined oils.

Overall, this oil has been fantastic. Easy to use, versatile and fantastic value for money, this is definitely a product which will be finding a permanent place in our kitchen. For those looking for a version of coconut oil with less saturated fat but with as much utility, you cannot go wrong with Cocavo light.

I've tried baking and cooking with coconut oil before and found it extremely versatile to use but the cost of it is a little off putting so I usually stick to cheaper oils. When I got my hands on Cocavo's Light Pure Coconut and Extra Virgin Avocado Oil I was impressed to see that it has less saturated fat that regular coconut oil and the added health benefits of the avocado oil.

I first thought I would try these with roast vegetable and put half a tablespoon in the baking dish and put in the oven to heat. As it's got a high smoke point, it didn't have that 'smell' other oils can have when they've been left in the oven a little longer than necessary! I rolled the par boiled potato's in the oil, added a bit of salt and back in the oven they went. The potatoes came out a lovely golden brown colour and when I served them, my husband asked what was different about them. I was most surprised because the humble potato is often just consumed so I asked him (before telling him) if he preferred them to the usual roastie I cook. He said they were really lovely and more flavoursome than usual and both children agreed with him. I could detect a faint avocado taste but didn't mention this as my husband supposedly doesn't like avocado's!!

Next up was my bliss balls. I have a very sweet tooth and I'm always looking at healthy sweet options with no refined sugars. I decided to make some with almonds, dates, coconut, cocao and a small dollop (no scientific measuring tools used here!) of oil. I stuck all the ingredients in the blender and watched it whizz around. The oil really helped to bind the ingredients and when I went to taste test, they had a lovely rich coconut taste with no hint of avocado.

I was really impressed with this oil and found that you didn't need to use lots. I am aware in summer that it changes from a solid into a liquid so you do need to be aware of how much you use as I think it's easier to gauge when it's in a solid state. I will definitely be using this again as not only is it versatile, it's health benefits far outweigh the extra cost!

This is the first time I have tried a Coconut based oil. I have friends who swear by Coconut Oil but to be honest when I go to the supermarket I find it rather expensive so stick to my Olive Oil. I also have never tried a solid formed oil before for some reason I thought it would be actual oil so was rather surprised when I opened the lid and found a hard yellow base looking back at me. But these are the joys of trying new items you easily adapt and just go with it.

I have been using this oil now for the past week and a bit and I am in love with it. I have used it with Schnitzel, Roast Beef and Roast Pork and all the vegetables, I have fried an egg with it and Steak and it is so versatile. I use a teaspoon to scoop it out and it really does not take very long to heat. The food has been tasting great and the potatoes the night before were amazing so crunchy. I was expecting the taste of the avocado to rub off on my food and I have found it does not effect it at all - probably as I use sauces and seasoning on everything anyways.

I am surprised with how much we have used it and how I still have heaps left which is just fantastic. I also find because it is better for you then most oils out there I do not mind using it and I can use as much or as little as I see fit. I was really worried with the roast and I probably used more than was necessary but it is trial and error and I am adapting quite nicely. It was the first time my husband used it when we done the Roast Beef and he was preparing the meat and the potatoes while I was getting everything else ready and he asked how to use it. We put three big heaped teaspoons in the pan and each time he put a potato in he would roll it around in the oil to begin with - I am not sure if that was the reason the potatoes were so good or if it was the seasoning but they were incredible. With the Roast Pork I used considerably less.

This is definitely a product I will be buying again and I am keen to try the other flavours that are on offer. After only about nine days I am completely sold on it. I do like that there is less saturated fats then regular coconut oils but in saying that I am not sure how much there was to begin with. So glad I got to try it out.

A few years back I used to use coconut oil for cooking and frying foods as a healthier alternative to your normal oils, however I stopped doing so and switched back to normal oil as coconut oil seemed to be getting rather costly as there wasn't such a range of products to choose from back then as there are now. When I saw the Cocavo up for review I decided it would be an interesting product to try out especially as it different to your traditional coconut oil as it contains avocado oil also.

Reading the back of the package I was impressed to see that the Cocavo Light has less saturated fat aswell as a milder flavour that regular coconut oil does, which I felt was a good thing especially when you are cooking something where you don't want to add any outside tastes to it. Opening the plastic container of Cocavo was simple enough and I must say I was most intrigued and surprised by the contents that greeted me inside, although I knew that the product contained avocado oil I expected to see a white substance however it was a shade between yellow and green kind of like the flesh of an avocado (not surprising really). The colour was interesting and did make me wonder what my food cooked in the oil may look like. It smelt a lot like avocado and not so much like coconut!

I decided to use the Cocavo to crisp up some roast potatoes, after boiling the chopped up cubes of potato which I had prepared I melted a good amount of Cocavo in my fry pan, being Winter meant that the oil was solid so I had to wait for it to melt which only took several minutes to do so. When the oil was melted and had begun to bubble I popped my potatoes into it and cooked each side until they were crisp and golden, the oil seemed to get very hot fast so this didn't take long at all. The potatoes were crisp and golden much more so it seemed than when I use traditional oil, they tasted amazing and I couldn't taste the oil at all they got a huge thumbs up from all of the family especially Miss 5 who kept wanting more. The only gripe I have was that I left the oil in the fry pan for about an hour before cleaning up and in this time it solidified, which left me puzzled as to what to do with the leftovers so I ended up remelting it and pouring it into a bottle to dispose of.

The next time I used the Cocavo Light I decided to use it in place of butter in baking. I was making a rice bubble cake so I melted some Cocavo in place of the butter together with some honey and sugar, and then added in my rice bubbles. The Cocavo melted easily and with no issues when mixed with the other ingredients, and didn't take very long at all to set in the fridge as part of the slice, the slice did taste slightly different than usual but it still tasted great and the family was happy to gobble it all up.

I would definitely buy the Cocavo again it is a great price for such a product and I like how versatile it is. I'm interested to try other flavours in the range to see how much they add flavour to my dishes.

So I used to be a very overweight lad, and while I am still not even close to my so-called "ideal weight" I'm a lot lighter now than I used to be. A big part of that has been cutting a huge swath of oils and fats out of my diet. I choose to eat foods that contain, and are prepared in, very little oils and fats... so the idea of willingly using oils in my cooking is something I struggled with... but I figured it was worth a small experiment. At worst, it would set my weight-loss goals back a week or so, if I trialled it on one meal. With that in mind... I dived in!

Digging some chicken tenders out of the freezer, I thawed them in the fridge overnight, then chopped them into decent chunks and marinated them for 2 hours in a mixture of Raptor Rubs' Herbes Chicken spice blend and some melted Cocavo Light, before frying them in more Cocavo Light, along with sliced onions and capsicum. I served them over steamed brown rice topped with a swirl of sweet chilli sauce and lots of freshly-ground black peppercorns and a dash of Himalayan pink rock salt.

While not the prettiest food to look at, it was very filling and tasted amazing! One of the things that impressed me was that I could taste a hint of coconut and avocado oil, but it didn't drown out the herbs and spices at all. If anything, it added that tiny extra hint of another layer of flavour, really giving the food an extra depth - something I have come to appreciate in recent years since I stopped abusing my taste buds with super-hot chilli and curry sauces.

I was a little put off about an hour later though, when it came time to do the dishes. The plate had little puddles of solid Cocavo stuck to it, something I have come to associate with "too fatty" foods... so while the oils are far healthier than those that used to leave such residues, the visual impact took a little of the shine off it for me. However, in all fairness, since this is the first time in ages I have used oils in such a way, it's highly likely that the root cause of this is my overuse of said oils. I plan to try using far less next time, because what looked like a small amount of the solid oil turned into a large puddle in the frying pan. Entirely my fault!

Overall, no matter what the case, I found this to be a very simple and easy to use cooking oil, and I appreciate that it doesn't make any significant changes to the flavour of the food you're cooking in it. This is something to be highly valued when it comes to cooking oils, since it means you can replace those unhealthier oils with something that will be better for you, and you can cook even the most delicate flavours in it with the utter reassurance that your food won't gain a taint. I look forward to further experimentation in the coming weeks!