Banana soy milk

Not to be confused with coconut water or coconut oil. For the dehydrated ground coconut pulp product, see creamed banana soy milk. Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. Coconut milk is differentiated into subtypes based on fat content.

These products are not the same as regular coconut milk products which are meant for cooking, not drinking. Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Coconut milk is a relatively stable oil-in-water emulsion with proteins that act as emulsifiers and thickening agents. It is opaque and milky white in color and ranges in consistency from watery to creamy.

Coconut milk can also sometimes be confused with coconut water. Coconut water is the clear fluid found within the coconut seed, while coconut milk is the extracted liquid derived from the manual or mechanical crushing of white inner flesh of mature coconuts. Coconut milk is traditionally made by grating the white inner flesh of mature coconuts and mixing the shredded coconut pulp with a small amount of hot water in order to suspend the fat present in the grated pulp. The grating process can be carried out manually or by machine. Gravity separation can also be used to derive a top layer of coconut cream and a bottom layer of coconut skim milk. This is achieved by simply allowing the extracted liquid to stand for an hour. Traditionally prepared coconut milk is utilized immediately after being freshly extracted because it spoils easily when exposed to air.

Rancid coconut milk gives off a strong unpleasant smell and has a distinctive soapy taste. Coconut cream contains a higher amount of soluble, suspended solids, which makes it a good ingredient for desserts, and rich and dry sauces. Because thin milk contains a lesser amount of these soluble solids, it is mainly used in general cooking. Coconut milk is also an intermediate step in the traditional wet process methods of producing virgin coconut oil by gradual heating, churning, or fermentation. These methods, however, are less efficient than coconut oil production from copra. A person sits on the bench and repeatedly scrapes the inner surface of halved coconut shells with both hands over the metal disk.

The scrapings are gathered by a container placed below. More modern mechanical coconut graters dating back to the mid-1800s consist of serrated blades with a hand crank. This version is believed to be a British invention. Commercially processed coconut milk products use largely the same processes to extract coconut milk from pulp, though they use more mechanical equipment like deshelling machines, grinders and pulverizers, motorized coconut shredders, and coconut milk extractors. They differ significantly in the bottling or canning process, however. Processed coconut milk are first filtered through a 100 mesh filters.

Manufacturers of canned coconut milk typically combine diluted and comminuted milk with the addition of water as a filler. Due to factors like pasteurization and minimal contact with oxygen, processed coconut milk generally has a longer shelf life than traditionally prepared coconut milk. It is also more efficient than traditional methods at extracting the maximum amount of coconut milk from grated coconut. Coconut cream can be dehydrated into coconut milk powder which has a far longer shelf life.

They are processed by adding maltodextrin and casein to coconut cream to improve fluidity and then spray drying the mixture. The powder is packaged in moisture-proof containers. To use, water is simply added to the coconut milk powder. It is a byproduct of coconut cream and coconut oil production and are usually discarded.

Processed coconut milk can be used as a substitute for milk beverages, usually marketed as “coconut milk beverage”. Milk substitutes from coconut are basically coconut milk diluted with water or coconut skim milk with additives. Coconut milk is also used widely for filled milk products. Coconut milk can be used to enrich the fat content of soy milk, improving its texture and taste to be closer to that of real milk. Cream of coconut is a thick, heavily sweetened, processed coconut milk product resembling condensed milk. It is originally produced by the Puerto Rican company Coco López and is used most notably in piña coladas in the United States.

In the Philippines, coconut milk can also be further processed into coconut caramel and coconut curds, both known as latík. A similar product found throughout Southeast Asia is coconut jam. It is known as matamís sa báo in the Philippines and uses only coconut milk and sugar. Coconut milk can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. In many tropical and Asian cuisines, it is a traditional ingredient in curries and other dishes, including desserts. In the Philippines, diverse dishes cooked in coconut milk are called ginataán. They can range from savoury dishes to desserts.