Most of us know about the many benefits of using shea butter for the hair and skin, but did you know that it can also be eaten and used as a cooking oil? According to the article on:

 http://www.ehow.com/how_4700478_cook-using-unrefined-shea-butter.html
it can be used to create lovely rice dishes, biscuits, cakes, and more. Some chocolate companies also use shea butter in the chocolate making process. There is a classification system for shea butter separating it into five grades: A (raw or unrefined, extracted using water), B (refined), C (highly refined and extracted with solvents such as hexane), D (lowest uncontaminated grade), E (with contaminants). Commercial grades are A, B, C. The color of raw (grade A) butter ranges from cream (like whipped butter) to grayish yellow, and it has a nutty aroma which is removed in the other grades. Grade C is pure white While the level of vitamin content can be affected by refining, up to 95% of vitamin content can remain in refined grades (ie grade C) of shea butter while reducing contamination levels to non-detectable levels (wikipedia). I would say that not all shea butters are created the same. I like to purchase my butters at my local flee market because there are many vendors. But, one has to be careful. I once bought shea butter from a vendor only to discover hair in it later! (Guess I bought a grade E butter).
My question is: Does anyone use shea butter to cook? Would any of you cook with shea butter? Why or why not?