Earlier this year, there was a spike in the price of cooking oil in the market and triggered a shortage of cooking oil in a number of regions. Researchers are trying to create cooking oil innovations to anticipate something similar so it doesn't happen again.
The most common cooking oil used in the world for cooking is palm oil. However, there are other vegetable oils that can be used, such as coconut oil.
Coconut is a tropical fruit. Even though palm oil and coconut oil are one family, they have different species. Oil from coconut contains short and medium chain protein, while oil from palm oil contains long chain protein.
There are many research activities related to coconut oil alternatives.
"Coconut oil has been used since ancient times as the main source of cooking oil. The manufacturing process is also easier for make virgin coconut oil (VCO) by adding tempeh yeast, so that natural fermentation occurs. Apart from VCO, this process also produces cooking oil.
Oil Making Process
To make coconut oil using the help of tempeh yeast. The principle is the process of making oil in a wet way, namely through the coconut milk process first. Grated coconut flesh, processed into coconut milk, and added tempeh yeast.
In principle, in coconut milk there is oil with water. These two are two immiscible materials. Uniquely, oil and water can be mixed in coconut milk. That's because of the coconut protein in it. Thus, he explained, if coconut protein is damaged, the oil and water in coconut milk will separate by itself.
The addition of tempeh yeast to coconut milk will make the coconut protein eaten by yeast. When the amount of protein decreases, its function to maintain the stability of the oil and water mixture decreases, so there is no longer anything holding the oil and water molecules. So the two will separate by themselves.
Furthermore, the oil still needs to be heated at a temperature of 700C to kill the yeast and its spores that are carried in the oil. The heating is repeated two to three times which is commonly referred to in the pasteurization process. That's what we do during the fermentation process with tempeh yeast.
Good for Body
This method produces cooking oil and VCO which is good for human health, helps the body in increasing metabolism, and increases endurance.
Coconut oil as cooking oil or as VCO, is beneficial for health. Cooking oil from coconut oil has a shorter chain than palm oil, so it is easier to digest, tends to be used rather than stored under human skin tissue.
For human health, it is better that short chains and medium chains are better. Because they are easier to digest, so when they enter the body, they tend to use rather than store.
By consuming coconut oil, the impact on the body does not make you fat faster, compared to consuming palm oil.
He hopes that food can use coconut oil, while for energy raw materials it can use palm oil. So people are not too dependent on palm oil, so coconut oil can also be used as cooking oil.
Coconut Oil and Tempeh Yeast Research
The coconut oil produced is not in contact with high heat and short heat contact, so the coconut oil molecules are not damaged, especially the molecules that bind short chain fatty acids.
Tempe yeast is superior in processing, because this fungus Rhizopus oligosporus is more voracious in eating protein than other commercial yeasts such as baker's yeast and tape yeast. Because basically, this fungus thrives on soybeans which are rich in long-chain protein and the process is faster.
Tempe yeast also helps in breaking down proteins into medium and short chains that are utilized by humans. So that soybeans are easier to digest in the form of tempeh.
Cooking oil and VCO produced from processed tempeh yeast can last a long time. So as long as the processing is closed, the oil is not mixed with water, does not come into contact with air, will last a long time. As long as there is no color change, aroma change, it will be safe for consumption.