144 THE COCONUT OIL AND 



Where the oil is required in a colourless con- 

 dition, as for toilet and perfumery purposes, a 

 Malabar system is to plunge the kernel into 

 boiling water for a few minutes ; it is then 

 grated, subjected to pressure, and the pulp 

 thus obtained reboiled until the oil rises to the 

 surface. 



Some Malabar experts pride themselves on their 

 ability to produce oil so white that it is almost 

 impossible to distinguish it from water when the 

 two are placed in phials side by side. In the 

 ordinary temperature of tropical countries the 

 oil maintains a liquid form, but in lower tem- 

 peratures, as in Europe, it assumes a white butter- 

 like solidity. Under conditions of extreme 

 cold it can be separated into two distinct con- 

 stituent elements, the more liquid of which is 

 known as olein and the more solid as cocosin, or 

 cocostearin, which is a somewhat complex con- 

 stituent containing several fatty acids. When the 

 oil is fresh the flavour and odour are agreeable, 

 and in that condition it is largely used in the East 

 for food purposes and cooking. But there it 

 rapidly becomes rancid, and when in that state is 

 used for illuminating, soap-making, and other 

 industrial purposes. Throughout the East kero- 

 sene is slowly superseding coconut oil as an illumi- 

 nant, especially since mineral oil was discovered in 

 Burmah and other Eastern regions. 



