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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Homemade Coconut Milk

No, I do not live in the Tropics boo, but that does not stop me from being totally ga-ga over tropical ingredients.  Pineapples, mangoes, bananas, RUM, sugar cane, and of course...coconut!

The shredded, sweetened stuff you buy at any grocery store in the baking aisle...um, it's okay I guess...but after about one giant pinch, it's cloyingly sweet.  And for some reason, it's really hard to find unsweetened, shredded coconut around here...so I just do it myself.  Take that.  All you need is a little muscle.
You can do it with either  one of those "easy-break" coconuts...the ones that are sort of scored across the middle...or a regular old harder-to-break variety.  I've found that it doesn't really make much of a difference.  Start by screwing a corkscrew through each of the eyes of the coconut- wiggle it around a bit once it's all the way in, to make the hole as open as possible. Remove the corkscrew and pour the coconut "milk" through a strainer into a bowl.  Waste not, want not. 
Once you've drained them of their liquid, place a flat-head screw driver flat against the center of the coconut and pound in with a hammer.  The shell will crack...move it around the shell and repeat until the crack runs all the way through and you can separate the two halves.  Now, grab a thin, flexible butter knife and slide it between the meat and the shell.  Slide the knife in and pull back like a lever to release the meat.  Sometimes you get large chunks...sometimes not so large.  Once all the coconut is free from the shell, use a veggie peeler to peel off the outer brown "skin (?)" that remains...leaving you with just the creamy, white coconut meat.
At this point, eat a few chunks as a reward for all of your hard work.  You can use it like this if you wish...or if you need it shredded/grated, simply use a hand grater if you're in the mood for more physical labor...or run it through the shredding blade in a food processor.
Now, use your fresh, naturally sweet, shredded coconut as you will.  Store in the fridge...but not for too long.  No preservatives mean it doesn't last as long. 

Homemade Coconut Milk
from The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman
yield ~2 c.

1 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut I used freshly grated

Combine the shredded coconut with 2 c. very hot water I used the coconut milk I extracted from the coconut, and added hot water to make 2 c. in a blender.  Pulse on and off quickly, then turn on the blender and let it work for 15 seconds or so.  Let sit for a few minutes.

Put through a strainer, pressing to extract as much of the liquid as possible.  Discard the solids and use the milk immediately or store, covered, in fridge for a few days.  Use in place of canned coconut milk!!
This is made from all raw ingredients (and is from Mark Bittman) and so I'm submitting it to IHCC because our theme this week is Raw Foods!  I'm also submitting to the events below...

This post is linked to :
IHCCHey What's For DinnerMyMeatlessMondays
24TbadgeGIRLICHEF

Would you like to comment?

  1. You never fail to amaze me. Have I mentioned that before?

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  2. Wow Heather lots of hard work. We do it a little different we break it with a back of a butcher knife, save the water for food like hoppers. We have a coconut grater that we hold one part of the coconut into it and turn with our hands so it is easy to grate then discard the shell.
    Then blend it and strain for milk like you did, my grandma and family use the thick for certain curries then use the pulp again with water added strain again and use for other curries. The pulp we make things like pittu.
    Check out hoppers, pittu and coconut sambal in my recipe page if you like.
    I am so glad you like to try new things. Cheers have fun

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  3. This is a very different way of breaking coconut. Nice post...

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  4. I love it!! This was such a great idea for raw foods week!! It definitely looks like a lot of hard work, but so worth it. You totally have me craving a big piece of that coconut now.

    Love the pic of your boy with the coconut shells - LOL!

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  5. Very impressive! You know I still have never done this. ;-) Excuse...I am lazy! I do love fresh coconut milk though so I should give it a try. ;-) What a great pick for raw foods week!

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  6. Very exciting to see your way of extracting coconut milk in a very gentle method.

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  7. I imagine this is well worth the effort. I must say I have never seen the quick opening coconuts. There is something wrong there:D And I like what you do with the coconut shells:D

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  8. Torview...awesome!! I will definitely check those out. I totally want to see what that special grater is like...you actually grate right of the shell- cool!

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  9. There is nothing like fresh coconut, and I love the idea of making coconut milk from it - much nicer than the canned stuff!

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  10. excellent post - making coconut milk is a little but of a chore but oh so worth it - now dang it you have given me a craving I didnt need to have...

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  11. love fresh coconut...the taste is amazing, every summer we used to help my grandfather crack coconuts, we really weren't much help, lol love the last pic...oh and your sopes...AWESOME!!
    sweetlife

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  12. Wow, amazing...I love the coconut water, but never made coconut milk...very interesting :-) The pictures are great!

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  13. Wow, that is a nice step by step post. Love it, will save it for later.

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  14. This is one battle I have fought and won only a few times since I was young- my mom would buy then and we would all take a crack at getting the coconut out and she would make milk, but so worth it!

    I praise you for the wonderful memories you are passing to your children!

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  15. In Asia, they love to add fresh coconut milk when cooking curry :)

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  16. Great post! Heh, I remember once as a kid trying to open a coconut. I had begged my mother to buy me one, assuring her I knew what to do with it (in retrospect, I'm not sure why she believed my 7-8 year old self). It took me over an hour to get it open and fortunately my father never found out how many of his power tools I used...

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  17. great heather....hats off to ur patience.coc.milk looks awesome..fresh n awesome....wanted to send an entry for two for tuesdays...were shall i link it up..thanks

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  18. Wow, what you are willing to take on in the kitchen always leaves me inspired. You are awesome!

    btw, I love the photo of your son with the coconuts. Priceless.

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  19. You are too good! I have a coconut scraper from the Philippines that makes separating the meat from the shells so much easier but I'm a wee bit too lazy to go the extra step of making the milk. I'll just have to admire your work! 8-)

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  20. Coconut is the very best Summer flavour!

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  21. You are simply amazing. What can't you do?

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  22. Just stop it, right now! You're making the rest of us look bad, making your own coconut milk. Sheesh!

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  23. Oh how cool! I wanna try! Do you think the coconut milk can then be canned to save for later? how much does it make?

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  24. This sounds so yummy, I've never tried splitting a coconut before, but now I want to.

    Question? How long do you store the coconut meat in the fridge? Are we talking one week, two weeks? or much less?

    Thanks for the great information!

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  25. Oh I just noticed an error, I think.

    "Combine the coconut milk with 2 c. very hot water"

    should that be shredded coconut with 2 c hot water?

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  26. Beth Anne...I'm not sure, but guessing it'd need some sort of preservative added in order to can it!? I'd love to find out, though.

    Debbie...I'd say a little less than a week, actually. It starts to mold really quickly. Maybe if you froze it?? Haven't tried that, but may next time. Oh yeah, busted! I totally screwed that line of instruction, didn't I!? Thanks for the heads up, I'll go fix that, pronto! Yes, it should ;)

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  27. Great tutorial. I love raw coconut and the coconut water that comes from it.

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  28. Lovely instructions heather! Gawd, i cant tell you how many times I cracked open a coconut in my raw vegan days! Just a quick tip, if you dont have time for the precise method you described and want to get to the meat quickly, remove the water as described in your post and then put the coconut into a double plastic shopping bag, twist it off and tie with a long handle left hanging, then go out to your driveway and swing the coconut up high and crash it onto the driveway. It will POP usually on the first try. Do not over do it or you will have too many shards of shell. I like your way better to get bigger pieces, but sometimes, you need the meat immediately! :) thanks for hosting and posting on the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! :) Alex@amoderatelife

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  29. Thank you Heather! That is a terrific idea to freeze the shredded coconut!

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  30. This post reminds me of the painstaking work that my mom used to do to make coconut milk. All worth it! It makes you appreciate what comes out of the can.

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  31. Wow! I have never attempted this. We bought a coconut once - the kind that is supposed to open easily - shah, liars! We never did get the nut open. Will have to try again!

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  32. I haven't made my own coconut milk for a really, really long time - thanks for reminding me just how satisfying that can be. Not to mention and infinitely superior taste. It actually brings back childhood memories for me of my grandfather spending Saturday mornings grating fresh coconut for the curry which we would enjoy for Sunday lunch.
    Sue

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  33. Yum!
    This looks doable! And coconut milk is really good for you!

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  34. Thanks for the great recipe. I use coconut milk for everything, cooking and it is great as a lotion or leave in conditioner for your hair.

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