Can I make coconut cream into a coconut milk equivalent?

purpleparrotuk

I love massaman curries. Was buying c milk 2 weeks ago for 70p. Now they are over £1.60. Hubby said the price has shot up due to a shortage of coconuts because of an insect infestation in thailand. That will explain why the cheaper brands have disappeared off the shelf.

zippychick

i have creamed coconut - is that something different altogether? I made a chinese dish with it a few weeks ago from an old good housekeeping book. It told me to sieve it through muslin but i think that removed most of the coconuttiness! I was very unsure of what i was doing though !

Swan_2

zippychick wrote: »

i have creamed coconut - is that something different altogether? I made a chinese dish with it a few weeks ago from an old good housekeeping book. It told me to sieve it through muslin but i think that removed most of the coconuttiness! I was very unsure of what i was doing though !

creamed coconut's the block & has coconut bits in iirc & I imagine you would lose a lot of the flavour after it's been put through muslin

coconut milk & coconut cream are completely smooth liquids, no straining required

the coconut milk powder is just mixed with warm water* to make the consistency you need for milk or cream, it's my product of choice, easy to use, keeps well & no waste

*I usually just chuck it in while the dish is cooking



PS ... completely OT, did you ever get round to growing any Alfalfa?

zippychick

So we have

Coconut milk powder - mix with water to get coco milk
Coconut cream - as above
Creamed coconut - as above
Coconut milk - use from the tin

Is this right?It's all very confusing but i like the sound of coco milk powder. Must check in the ethnic supermarket for that

Yes , i think i lost a lot of the coconuttiness in that dish! Darn and rats. I was just scared of the dish being lumpy if i didn't follow the instructions! !


ARG! shame on me - i will do that this week! Totally forgot!:o:p

Swan_2

zippychick wrote: »

So we have

Coconut milk powder - mix with water to get coco milk
Coconut cream - as above
Creamed coconut - as above
Coconut milk - use from the tin

Is this right?It's all very confusing but i like the sound of coco milk powder. Must check in the ethnic supermarket for that

Yes , i think i lost a lot of the coconuttiness in that dish! Darn and rats. I was just scared of the dish being lumpy if i didn't follow the instructions! !


ARG! shame on me - i will do that this week! Totally forgot!:o:p

yes you've got it!

it's confusing isn't it all the tems being so similar & to add to that confusion there's coconut powder as well, but that won't make milk or cream without boiling & straining

the coconut milk powder is so easy to use, it's a great product
although I have heard it's really nice to eat straight from the pack :whistle: which could be a disadvantage if you're fond of coconut


don't worry, Alfalfa keeps for ages, it took me years to get through my last Kilo & I got as much from the last batch as the first, I'm sure you'll love it once you get started

emiff6

You can make coconut milk from dessicated coconut (unsweetened).

Pour two & a quarter cups of boiling water onto three quarters of a cup of dessicated coconut and leave to stand 5 minutes.
Then whizz in a FP for about a minute and a half, and leave to stand for ten minutes more.
Give one last 30 second whizz, and pour through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl. Squeeze out all the liquid. Store in a lidded container in the fridge.
The cream will settle out on top of the milk. Either scoop off and use separately, or whizz back into the liquid for a really creamy milk.

zippychick

Swan i know for sure i'll be referring back to this thread, as i had checked here when i made the chinese dish but never found anything to help me with it! Why didn't I think of you, the fount of knowledge! DOH!

I like the sounds of the dessicated coconut one too, will try that out!

zippychick

PIcked up some creamed coconut:j - it's so cheap compared to the price of dessicated coconut! Desicated was 1.60 and the sachets were around the 60-70p mark!:eek:

Britannia12345

don't forget that if you use maggi coconut powder it's made by nestle, just in case anyone is boycotting nestle

babyshoes

If you are near a costco, their coconut milk worked out to about 60p a tin when I last bought it a month or two ago.