How to Make Coconut Milk At Home

Coconut milk is often a staple for people with food allergies, as well as an outstanding dairy replacement and healthy fat source for those who adhere to a raw, GAPS diet or Paleo diet. It is also the foundation of most Thai curries.

Coconut milk is a great alternative to pasteurized cow’s milk, soy, or other processed kinds of milks. Coconut cream is much thicker and richer. In addition, the cream that rises to the top of a can of coconut milk is considered coconut cream.

The milk extract is used in preparing Nigerian foods, while the cream  is used when making ice cream, desserts, in addition to some Nigerian coconut shakes and drinks like tiger nuts milk and groundnut milk for amazing results.

The coconut tree is a member of the palm tree family and the only known living species of the genus cocos. The term “coconut” can refer to the whole coconut palm, the fruit or the seed, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut.   The scientific name is Cocos Nucifera. Wikipedia

Nutrition

Coconut is extremely nutritious. It is rich in trace minerals including copper, manganese, and selenium. It contains modest amounts of potassium, vitamin c, vitamin b6, calcium, iron, thiamin, and folate.

The benefits are many, it is remarkably high in healthy, medium-chain fatty acids like lauric acid (in human breast milk) and also in caprylic acid (a potent natural antiviral and anti fungal)

Canned coconut milk or coconut milk in cartons or tetra paks are not as healthy as fresh coconuts because it contains preservatives.

Also, understand that most coconut milk in cartons is intended for drinking and is very thin and low in fat; too thin for making kefir curries, yogurt, or coconut whipped cream.

Luckily, learning how to make this low carb milk is stress-free.  So you can drop the cans and pick up a coconut fruit, widely available at most local markets near you as well as online.

These steps will show you how to extract the rich coconut milk from the fruit.

How to Make Coconut Milk At Home

This low carb homemade recipe is simple, yet versatile. Let me show you how:

Coconut milk can be made from:

• Shredded coconut
• Desiccated coconut flakes
• Fresh coconut
• Freshly grated coconut.

Let us start with the simplest and economical way to make unsweetened dried coconut flakes.  It only requires 2 ingredients: water and desiccated (dried) coconut!

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsweetened shredded desiccated coconut
• 4 cups of water

Instructions

1. Firstly, heat the water until warm, but not boiling.
2. Then, add coconut and warm water to and blend on high speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

After that, strain the blended mixture using a muslin cloth or nut milk bag.

Finally, squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Be careful of the warm water.

And there you have it: easy homemade coconut milk!

Please Note:

1. If you like, you can save the coconut meat and add a little at a time to smoothies, baked goods, etc., or just compost.
2. Secondly, leftover coconut pulp can be used to make coconut flour. Use a dehydrator or oven on the lowest setting to dry the pulp. Fluff a few times during the drying process.
3. Then, for fluffy, light flour, return the dried coconut flour to the blender or a food processor and pulse to break up the clumps. Use in any recipe that calls for coconut flour like coconut flour pie crust.