How to Make Coconut Milk - So Delicious!

I made coconut milk for the first time today and I am so excited about it! I had never tasted truly fresh coconut milk before so I didn't know what I was missing, but - WOW! It is so creamy and smooth.

I followed Jenny's instructions at Nourished Kitchen for making it, and it worked great. It was time-consuming (getting all that coconut out of the shell and peeling the skin off of it), but not hard.* (See my time-saving update below!)

PS - Get free shipping from Tropical Traditions with code 200212free - hurry, it expires midnight EST, Monday, February 20th.


Once you get it out you basically just put it in a blender with some water and blend it up. I was afraid that my blender would have trouble with it (it doesn't do well with ice, for instance), but it shredded it right up quite easily. After I squeezed the liquid out of it, the remaining coconut looked just like what you buy at the store! (Except it didn't have any additives.)

The instructions say to strain it through butter muslin, but I don't have any of that so I used an old (clean!) cotton pillowcase that was getting thin with wear. I cut a large square out of one side of the pillowcase and used it to strain the coconut. It worked perfectly and I felt good about putting something that I thought was 'worn out' to good use!

Jenny says to put the coconut in a dehydrator to use in baked goods, etc. just like any other coconut. I have a dehydrator, but I didn't want to go to the trouble of putting the coconut in it, so I just put it in a plastic container in the freezer. That should be just as good.

After I made it I drank a glass of it before storing it in the frige. It was still warm and indescribably delicious!  Bonus: my hands were really soft from the coconut oil after I finished squeezing the milk out of the coconut.

CHEERS!

*TIME SAVING UPDATE! I just found a product that saves me from having to cut open a coconut and pry the meat out and scrape all the peel off - this is HUGE, believe me! And it actually saves money, too. I was paying from $2 to $4 each for coconuts at the grocery store until I decided to try to find some natural packaged coconut meat without sweetener or additives. I discovered Tropical Traditions Organic Dried Coconut Flakes (it is available shredded, too). 

I ordered a 2.2 lb. bag, and it is a LOT of coconut. It looks to be the equivalent of about 6 coconuts. Since I only paid $8.50 for it (on sale - regular price is $10. - still a good deal), that is like paying less than $1.50 per coconut. PLUS it is organic AND saves a LOT of work! What could be better? :-D


Coconut Chips - 2.2-lb Bag



Order before midnight EST, Monday, February 20th and get free shipping - use code 200212free.