Coconut Oil Shelf Life

[maxzap]

I have a 5 gallon bucket of coconut oil that I have had for several (at least 5 years) -- it's solid - food grade for Maines Supply - is that still good for soap making? It's been stored in the original airtight plastic bucket in a cool basement.

Hoping I don't have to throw it out - such a waste of product and money. but also don't want to waste time making soap that is no good.

 

[lsg]

I have some that I have been using over a long period of time. It is stored in my basement and it is still good. If it looks good and smells OK, I would use it. Try it in a small one pound batch first. That way you won't be out much.

 

[Dennis]

Yep. I had coconut oil in a temperature/humidity controlled environment (central air ) for several years. When I finally decided to give it a shot I removed the cap and took a big whiff. Surprisingly it didn't wreak, no weird smell, nothing crawled out of the jug. I used it. Not a problem. Honestly, if it had a stench emanating from the jug I would have used it just to see what would result. I mean, it's not like I was going to eat it and maybe the chemical reaction with the lye would have killed the stench. Sometimes I just gotta know!

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Yep. I had coconut oil in a temperature/humidity controlled environment (central air ) for several years. When I finally decided to give it a shot I removed the cap and took a big whiff. Surprisingly it didn't wreak, no weird smell, nothing crawled out of the jug. I used it. Not a problem. Honestly, if it had a stench emanating from the jug I would have used it just to see what would result. I mean, it's not like I was going to eat it and maybe the chemical reaction with the lye would have killed the stench. Sometimes I just gotta know!

I’ve done that. It was just a little bit left of the coconut oil jar and it was a few years old. I opened it and it smell like coconut oil but... old. Like kinda dusty? It didnt smell bad and it didnt look bad, just smelled old on top of the normal coconut so I used it and made the soap. Soap turned out fine, normal coconut soap smell, i just used the last bar after 5 months aprox and it was fine. But again, it was not the whole batch made with that oil, it was just a bit, maybe like 5%