Homemade coconut milk - a recipe

Coconut milk is one of the healthy products, which can help us to make exotic delicacies with excellent taste. Unfortunately, cans of this product available at shops include many unhealthy  ingredients, which certainly we would not even expect to find in such a product, for example preservatives. For this reason, before we buy it, we should check the label or try to prepare the coconut milk at home.

The health in the coconut

Before I give a recipe for homemade coconut milk, I would like to talk a little about its properties. First of all, we have to know that the product we call coconut milk is in fact the juice of this nut, not its milk. The thing that we find on store shelves has been made by combining this juice with many additional ingredients, including water, preservatives and sugar (for this reason, the milk that has been in store for some time can sometimes delaminate).

It is good to prepare food from it, because coconut milk is considered to be one of the more healthy cooking products. It is first of all a source of many minerals – 100 g portion of coconut milk incudes a daily requirements for manganese (46%), copper (13%), phosphorus, iron and selenium (9%). In addition, small amounts of vitamin C, B vitamins, niacin and folic acids can be found there. In addition, in its composition, there are saturated fatty acids.

Coconut milk helps to lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing the good HDL. Most probably, this effect owes to the presence of lauric acid. Recently, some research have also shown the influence of coconut milk on metabolism. It has been found that its effect on metabolism, body weight and fat content is positive. The milk contains short chain fatty acids which are transported immediately to the liver and converted there into energy. These reduce appetite, caloric intake, and may, in the short term, increase energy use and overstimulate metabolism.

Recipe for homemade coconut milk

To make your own coconut milk, we will need the following ingredients:

•  Pulp of 1 coconut (fresh) or 1 cup of good quality coconut shreds,
• 1 liter of water (mineral or boiled).

Shreds or pulp must be poured with water and set aside for about 30 minutes. Then, pour it into a blender and crush. We should get slurry that needs to be sifted through the gauze. As a result, we should get coconut milk.

Another, slightly less complicated, but more time consuming, way is to pour water to the bowls full of the shreds or pulp and leave it overnight. In the morning, we should have homemade coconut milk.

It must be remembered that the milk produced that way can be kept in the refrigerator for only three days. Due to the fact that it may delaminate, it is good to shake it before usage. As it is with "shop" milk, it is also suitable for making desserts, thickening soups and sauces and as a replacement for cow's milk in coffee.