1. Select about 8 mature coconuts. Make sure dehusked shell is intact and has no breakage and that there is water inside the nut. To test, shake it.

2. Split the shell into halves, take out the meat from the shell with a sharp knife, a scraper or shredder (kudkuran). You can have this done in the neighborhood market.

3. Collect the shredded meat together to be cold-pressed into coconut milk. Press the bunch of shredded meat with the coconut water by any means that does not require heat. The first cocomilk called "kakang gata" comes out. Strain this "first" milk through a cheese cloth (katsa) to separate the sediments. There are cold-pressing machines available in the bigger wet markets like Marikina, Sta. Ana, Nepa-Q-Mart in Cubao, to cold-press your shredded cocomeat.

4. Your 8 nuts will make about 4 glasses of coco milk or half a liter. Let the filtered coco milk in the pitcher settle overnight. The coco milk will separate into three parts: 1/3 oil will rise to the top and the shredded meat will settle at the bottom, with coconut water in between.

5. To separate the oil, refrigerate until the oil turns into coconut butter form. Skim the coco butter and separate into another container. Let it stand at room temperature to become virgin coconut oil ready to take. Avoid direct sunlight for the oil to stay clear. Shelf life is good for 90 days.

URL: http://www.inq7.net/nat/2003/may/18/nat_15-1.htm