Organic Cooking Ingredients & Oils

Organic ingredients carry certification that confirms they’ve been grown and processed to independently verified standards. In the UK and EU, ‘certified organic’ means no synthetic crop treatments are used, and nothing is added in processing that doesn’t need to be there. 

The standard applies throughout the supply chain, from the soil to the finished product, and must be verified by a recognised certifying body for the label to be used. Products that have a certification mark have undergone independent verification, rather than simply making the claim.

In an organic fermented product, the vegetables used as the base ingredient are certified organic - produced without the chemical inputs used in conventional farming. The fermentation process uses naturally occurring bacteria to convert sugars into lactic acid, which is how live cultures develop and the product is preserved. Organic versions avoid the non-organic additives or preservatives sometimes used in conventional equivalents, keeping ingredient lists as short as they need to be.

It depends on the oil. Organic extra virgin coconut oil is solid at room temperature in cooler conditions and liquid in warmer ones; either state is fine for cooking. MCT oil is liquid at room temperature and should be kept in a cool, dark place away from direct heat. Neither requires refrigeration, but keeping them away from direct sunlight helps maintain quality and flavour over time. Coconut butter follows the same approach as coconut oil and is best kept at room temperature.

Yes! The certification relates to how ingredients are grown and produced, not how they perform in the kitchen. Organic tinned tomatoes, legumes, coconut milk and cooking oils work in exactly the same way as their conventional counterparts in any recipe. 

Where some organic products differ slightly is in flavour: raw apple cider vinegar with the mother, for example, has more complexity than processed vinegar, and cold-pressed coconut oil retains more of the coconut's natural taste.