Homemade coconut milk. Learn the super simple and basic technique of extracting coconut milk from fresh grated coconut. So easy to make at home, and most importantly it’s fresh minus preservatives and additives.
Ready to learn some basic cooking techniques? But first, make sure you have plenty of time, and read on.
This basic cooking lesson is all about extracting coconut milk from fresh coconut. You might be very familiar with canned coconut milk and coconut milk powders. They’re very convenient when you’re super busy with everyday chores. But, believe me, once you try this fresh homemade coconut milk, you’ll never go back to the store bought version.
In fact, I do use a lot of store bought coconut products in my recipes, but at the same time, I try to incorporate fresh coconut milk whenever time permits. It really gives that classic fresh touch to my dishes, and I love its naturally sweet taste.
Ok, first things first. Grab the best coconut from your local grocery store. Use a heavy sharp knife to break it open. Again, use a sharp pointed knife to detach the coconut flesh or coconut meat from the hard shell. Discard the shell.
Now, using a knife, scrape off the brown portion of the coconut flesh. The brown part is edible, but you’ll only need the white flesh to make pure white coconut milk. To make the process much easier, grate the coconut.
The rest of this recipe for making coconut milk from fresh coconut is super simple. You’ll need to grind the fresh coconut scrapings in batches to extract the thick milk and thin milk.
Place the coconut in food processor and grind to a coarse paste. You may want to do this in batches depending on the size of your food processor. The next step is placing this ground coconut in a muslin cloth and squeezing out all the delicious coconut goodness. And voila, you have extracted the thick coconut milk or coconut cream.
Now, the second step in making homemade coconut milk. Place coconut back in the food processor along with water and grind again. Repeat the steps - squeeze out more coconut water. This gives you thin coconut milk. If you want to make more thin milk, just repeat the process.
Simple and fresh coconut milk for that extra touch of magic in your recipes. Why not try some delicious dishes featuring coconut milk? It tastes incredible in both sweet and savory recipes.
Homemade Coconut Milk | Video
Ingredients
- 1 whole coconut grated (approximately 4 ½ cups)
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- To extract thick coconut milk, place grated coconut in a food processor. Add 2 cups water. (Grind in batches depending on the size of the food processor).
- Transfer ground coconut to a muslin cloth placed over a sieve. Place the sieve on a bowl. Gather the sides of the muslin cloth and squeeze out coconut milk. This is the first extract or thick coconut milk.
- To extract thin coconut milk, place coconut back in the food processor. Add 1 cup water. Grind to coarse paste. Transfer to the muslin cloth and squeeze again to get the second extract of coconut milk also called thin coconut milk.
- If you want more thin coconut milk, repeat the process.
- Fresh coconut milk can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze coconut milk, but it may separate. Just thaw it in the refrigerator and reblend before using for cooking purposes.
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Valentina says
I never knew how easy it was to make coconut milk. I cook with it so often and love it, so this is great for me! 🙂 Thank you.