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What can I use instead of coconut oil to add solidity at room temperature to the final product?

Ask Me Anything (Office Half Hour)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Half Hour)

Recorded

This event was on August 12, 2025

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Nolan is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Cathy Chapman

What can I use instead of coconut oil to add solidity at room temperature to the final product?

Answer

Sometimes I'll see a recipe for like a yummy scrumptious dessert, and I call it the, I forgot method. I just pretend that I forgot to add that recipe and everything always comes out. Now, if it's the flavor that you're looking for, uh, my friend Anne Essel will use a coconut extract to give it that flavor. But in terms of what it will do, uh, to what you're baking, I personally wouldn't worry about it. I think in the, um, chocolate ganache, I remember when I made the chocolate ganache recipe that I totally skipped, uh, adding the oil, the coconut oil. And what I did was I just kept it in the freezer a little bit longer so that it would solidify and everyone loved it and it turned out great. So sometimes you kind of have to experiment a little bit.

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

Char Nolan is a serious crusader for plant-based education, armed with a degree in public health from Philadelphia’s Temple University. She teaches nutrition and plant-based cooking throughout Philadelphia, and in many underserved communities. Char holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from eCornell and completed Rouxbe’s Plant-Based Professional Certification course in 2015. In 2019, Char completed post-graduate course work in social media marketing at the University of the Arts. When she is not cooking or teaching, she manages social media accounts for several plant-based influencers. Char prides herself on learning everything she knows about cooking from growing up in her grandparents’ Italian restaurant. Her favorite vegetables are Brussels sprouts and kale, of course. Char originally hails from Queens, NY, but has lived in Philadelphia most of her adult life. She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer.