How to make Coconut Milk

Coconut milk adds a light, delicate flavor to curries, soups, and other dishes. Canned Coconut cream, is more concentrated than Coconut milk is also available. Coconut cream is extracted from the coconut meat without adding water. But for creamy taste and "mouth feel", freshly made coconut cream can't be beat.

Coconut cream or milk contain small amounts of a wide range of vitamins and minerals, and are especially high in potassium and folate, vital nutrients.

Preparation
1. Pierce the three eyes at the top of the coconut with a sharp object.
2. Drain the juice out of the eyes - this is not coconut milk.
3. Tap around the nut's center with a sharp instrument to crack it open.
4. Remove the white meat from inside the two halves of the coconut.
5. Test a small piece of the meat. If it tastes bad, don't use it!
6. Chop up the coconut meat until the pieces are fairly uniform in size.
7. Put half the coconut in a blender with about 1 ½ cups hot water.
   Vary the amount of water to produce thicker or thinner milk.
8. Process for thirty seconds.
9. Place a few layers of cheesecloth over a bowl.
10. Strain the milk through the cloth.
11. Squeeze the cloth to get all the milk out.
12. Repeat the process with the other half of the coconut meat.

To get thin milk, add warm water to residue from first straining.
Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes, then press as before.

For coconut cream, refrigerate first pressing and cream will rise to top. You can skim off the cream for special dishes. Refrigerate or freeze. Two cups coconut makes 3 cups thick milk, of which 6 Tablespoon is cream.

Time Required: 30 minutes

Useful Tips

1. When extracting the meat wear plastic gloves to keep hairs on the brown outer layer from contaminating the white flesh.
2. When cooking with coconut milk do not cover the pan, this may cause curdling.
3. Coconut milk goes bad quickly, you can store refrigerated for two days at most.
4. Coconut milk can be frozen. A handy trick is to pour the milk into ice cube trays and freeze it. One cube is equal to about one ounce.