It is produced by shredding the meat of a fresh coconut, mixing it with an equal amount of hot water, the squeezing until dry. The milky, opaque liquid that streams out, full of the fat and flavor of the coconut, is coconut milk.
Coconut milk is rich in fat and protein. It has a thick creamy texture and is solid white in color, giving it an appearance similar to cow’s milk.
Coconut milk contains about 17 to 24 percent fat, depending on how much water is used in processing. The higher fat milk is often called coconut cream and is very thick and rich just like dairy cream.
Most of the recipes use coconut milk call for ‘thick’ coconut milk – the liquid from the first pressing of fresh coconut meat that has been ground with water. ‘Thin’ coconut milk is the liquid from successive pressings. Normally recipe for thick coconut milk combines the liquid from the first and second pressing.
Coconut milk can be used to make fruit smoothies, coconut pancakes, clam chowder and creamy chicken gravy.
Coconut milk also can be combined with fruit juice, milk, chocolate milk, and many other cold beverages.
Coconut milk for cooking
