Many raw recipes call for coconut milk or coconut cream but often enough, you either do not have young coconuts available and/or you do not want to use canned coconut milk – and end up not making a possibly extremely delicious dish!
The solution? Just make your own coconut milk or cream. Without young coconuts. Easy as and takes not even 5 minutes.
Ingredients for 700 ml coconut milk
All you need is water and desiccated coconut flakes, unsweetened and not roasted (unless you do not mind them not being raw):
1 cup coconut flakes
2 – 3 cups of water
Add more water or coconut, depending on how thick you want you coconut milk to be.
Preparation
Pour water into your blender, the amount depends on how much coconut milk or cream you want to make.
If you want to make thin coconut milk, like skim milk, add 1 part coconut flakes for 1 part water: so for 1 cup of water, one cup of flakes.
If you want to make thicker milk, add more flakes and for cream – even more of course.
Blend the flakes until smooth.
Strain through a nut milk bag, strainer or cheese cloth.
Store refrigerated for up to 2 days or add a dash of sea salt (a natural preservative) and store refrigerated for up to 4 days – just check taste and scent before pouring it all over your breakfast or into your smoothie or curry or whatever you are making.
Tip #1
Freeze leftover milk in ice cube trays!
Tip #2
The pulp can be used for many recipes, such as macaroons, cookies, crackers or cake crust.
Either store the wet pulp in a ziplock bag in your freezer or dehydrate it, and blend it up again once dry for really fine coconut flour. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Notes:
C = cup, 240 ml
1/2 C = half a cup, 120 ml or / TBSP
1/4 C = quarter of a cup, 60 ml or 4 TBSP
TBSP = table spoon, 15 ml or 3 tsp
tsp = tea spoon, 5 ml
“soft dates” = medjool are usually best. If necessary, soak briefly and drain. The soaking water is super sweet by the way!