When I discovered about three months ago that Trader Joe’s carried an inexpensive and kosher coconut milk, I was thrilled! However, it’s light, not whole fat (which I prefer), and as you know, I’m always looking for ways to maximize my grocery dollars. 🙂 I bought a 50 lb bag of dried unsweeteened coconut a while back, and it occurred to me that I might be able to use it to make my own coconut milk.
However, in trying to make it, I actually ended up with coconut cream! This is something I haven’t yet found kosher, and was thrilled to be able to try it out in our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie – it was rich and delicious! I also used it to make pear crisp.
It was exciting to be able to make something so tasty and incredibly frugal; here’s what I did:
Homemade Coconut Cream/Milk
- 2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
- 4 c. boiling water
Blend both in a blender. Let sit for about fifteen minutes, to give the water a chance to absorb the coconut flavor. Pour into a strainer lined with cheesecloth over a pot, and let it drip through. Then press it so as much liquid as possible is removed – you want the pulp to be as dry as you can get it. Put the coconut pulp to the side – I’ll tell you what to do with that in a minute. 🙂 Put the coconut liquid in the fridge, and in the morning the rich cream will have risen to the top and solidified, and the water will be left below.
If you want to use this as coconut milk, let it sit out and melt a little, and mix the water and cream together by hand – it’s very quick and easy to do. If you want to use it as cream, scoop the top layer off and put it in a separate container. Use in recipes as you would cream for a rich flavor.
Now, about the coconut pulp. This is where this gets even more frugal and fun! Put the coconut pulp into the dehydrator, and dry. Blend until smooth. I’m planning to use this as coconut flour for baking. When you buy coconut flour, it’s been defatted and doesn’t have the coconut flavor anymore, so this seems like it should work well! I haven’t yet purchased coconut flour because of the cost ($7 lb). Now I can use dried coconut for which I pay less than $2 lb, and can make my own coconut milk/cream, as well as coconut flour for a fraction of what they cost at the store!
(This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.)
Avivah
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