How To: Make Coconut Milk
Since dairy products are off the table for me (literally) I’ve had to turn to other sources for any dairy-like products to substitute with. Enter: coconut milk. You can buy coconut milk at the store, either canned on the shelf or in a carton in the refrigerated section. However, I don’t like to buy coconut milk at the store. The kind in the can has that whole BPA issue hanging over it’s head. Plus, I don’t like it for some reason. Don’t know why. Just don’t like the taste. I’ve bought the kind in the carton you find in the refrigerated section with the almond milk and such, but unfortunately those darn food manufacturer’s can’t just leave well enough alone and they add all kinds of yucky stuff to their coconut milk like guar gum and carrageenan.
What’s a real food girl to do? Make your own, of course! I promise this is super easy, especially if you use the handy dandy nut milk bag you can find here. Once you get the hang of it, you will be your own coconut milk making factory!
How to Make Coconut Milk
First, boil yo’self some water. You don’t actually want it boiling. Just hot. I usually boil water in my kettle, then go ahead and pour it into my blender and let it cool for a few minutes. Just make sure it’s not too hot. You don’t want to turn the blender on with boiling hot water in there. It gets kinda messy. For some reason hot liquids and blenders don’t mix. It has something to do with physics, which, you know, I can’t really go into right now. I think it has something to do with E=mc squared. 🙂
Any-who, go ahead and add your shredded, unsweetened coconut to your water in the blender. You want a ratio of two parts water to one part coconut. I usually make three cups at a time. I put three cups of water in the blender and add one and a half cups coconut. You could do more or less depending on your mood. I’ve found three cups of water is all my blender can handle without doing a mini explosion when I turn it on. If you’re going to do more than that, maybe you should blend in two batches.
Finally, blend away! I have an old blender that’s not-so-efficient anymore, so I let it just run for several minutes. I’d give it at least two minutes, even with a good blender. Unless you have an awesome blender, like a Vitamix or something. In that case it probably will take you 30 seconds. Side note: I’m jealous of you.
After your coconut is all blended up, I let it cool a little bit more in the blender and then strain it. This is where the awesome nut milk bag comes in. It makes this so easy. If you don’t have a nut milk bag, grab you some cheesecloth and a strainer and do it the old fashioned way. It’s a little messier, but it will work. (Also- get a nut milk bag.) There you go! You’ve got delicious creamy coconut milk that you made all by yourself. Way to go!
Please give this a try and come back to tell me how you like it!
