Make your own COCONUT MILK for super savings!
I’ve been busy exploring the Thermomix cookbook “Fast and Easy Indian Cooking” which arrived by mail from friends in Australia and Britain. (Special thanks to Jo, Mandy, Grace, Janie and John!) This book has been a real mind-opener for many reasons, not the least of which is that right there on page 19, in the section of “Must-Have Recipe Basics” it offers us one, two, three easy ways to make Coconut Milk (and coconut cream) at home!
You’ll need to contact a Thermomix demonstrator for a copy of the book to learn all three methods of making coconut milk at home. The easiest method for me, and the one I’m sharing here now is the shockingly simple way of combining water with inexpensive dessicated coconut which is readily available in most grocery stores.
200 g dessicated coconut makes about two litres! thick coconut milk in foreground & thin milk (bonus!) at rear
Super savings from a super kitchen machine!
The ability to make coconut milk at home is a huge bonus for those of us who like to cook Indian, Thai and Asian recipes, and special desserts without dairy products. It’s also (in my opinion) one more reason to own a Thermomix. In the past, I bought tinned coconut milk for about $2-$3 per 400 ml. or $6-$7/litre. (A much begrudged and infrequent expense for this frugal person.) But by making coconut milk at home with Thermomix, I now spend only about $1 for the required amount of dry coconut to make this same amount of creamy milk. Wow, that’s a whopping 85% saving! Here’s how to do it.
Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream
from Fast and Easy Indian Cooking
by Janie Turner and Razia Laljee
(available from Thermomix demonstrators and distributors)
200 g unsweetened dessicated coconut
1200 g water
(you will also need a jelly bag or muslin cloth for straining)
- Put coconut flakes and water into Thermomix bowl and cook for about 8 minutes/100°C/speed 4, or until you notice the release of steam.
- Blend for 30 sec/speed 8 while keeping a dishcloth over top (to prevent ‘spitting’ of hot liquid.)
- Pour contents into a jelly bag or sieve lined with muslin. Use clean rubber gloves to protect hands from heat while lifting and squeezing out all the coconut milk into a bowl below. This is the “first milk” which is thick and creamy. (It will have a thick layer of hardened cream on top after cooling.) Set milk aside and proceed to next step: making thin coconut milk.
- Repeat the process as above by returning the squeezed/strained coconut to the Thermomix bowl and adding the same amount of fresh water. This “second milk” is thinner and without cream, but still highly usable in many recipes such as soups — or freeze it for enhance your fruit sorbets. (It is really a bonus or ‘free’ milk and did not figure into my cost analysis above.)
Note: If using fresh coconut use 100g – 300g. coconut meat, brown skin removed, broken into 3 cm pieces and add water equal to three times the weight of your coconut.
Layer of coconut cream removed from the milk after separation.
Refrigerate coconut milk and watch the cream separate from the “first milk”. This thick cream can be blended with the milk or used on its own as a rich cream substitute depending on recipe. The strained coconut pulp that is leftover is dry and tasteless but can be surreptitiously added to oatmeal, breads or baked goods for added fiber. Also onsider toasting it and sprinkling on soups and salads as garnish.
Dry coconut pulp remains after making coconut milk at home.
Want more?
- There are many enticing recipes using coconut milk in the Thermomix cookbook “Fast and Easy Indian Cooking”. I have really enjoyed the range of recipes and well-detailed, Thermomix-specific instructions from two authors who really know their subject. Go on and treat yourself, ask a consultant or distributor for more info.
- Don’t miss this blog’s recipe for how to make fast and easy coconut butter!
- People everywhere love the Thai recipe for Tom Ka Gai Soup — made with coconut milk of course :)
- see more about making your own ingredients with Thermomix
- Since I started, I can’t stop! I just love saving money by making coconut milk at home with Thermomix and would love to hear how others best enjoy using this versatile ingredient. Feel free to include links to recommended recipes in your comments ;-)
Oh dear me!!! Now THIS is the BEST ever. I’m going to try it right away. So much coconut milk AND cream. I’m in awe. I loved the coconut cream recipe you shared (I’d never had it before) but this, this is like a dream to me. Thank you so much Helene.
I am going to get my hands on that Fast and Easy Indian cooking, sounds like it’s full of mouth watering recipes! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mara and Nora: Yes, this is an awesome recipe all thanks to the Fast and Easy Indian Cooking. (There are plenty more great recipes in that book, so I’m sure you will love it Nora.) I can’t believe it took me almost two years to discover that this vital ingredient can be made so easily and inexpensively at home. I’m now at the point where things just don’t feel quite right it there’s not a litre of coconut milk on hand in the fridge for impulse recipe use. Before Thermomix, coconut milk was a rare indulgence. Today I made more of the milk so as to freeze it in ice cube trays for using in dairy-free sorbet. Woohoo :)
Oh yes, I can think of many uses for that coconut milk indeed!
Do we know any calorie counts on the coconut milk produced??? Not sure how to go about that ??
Hi Cheryl — well, I don’t usually count calories but when I want nutritional information I often use this site. (It takes a bit of time to get familiar with how it works but is a good thorough resource once you master it’s idiosyncrasies…) Anyway, according to my calculations there are about 600 calories PER LITRE of coconut milk made this way. (Nobody said coconut was a low-calorie food, lol) Hope this helps!
Almond and cashew milk are also highly caloric (does that word exist in english?). Still, it isn’t all just about the calorie count but also about the glycemic index (does that exist as such in english?). I’m not sure about coconut, but almond milk is really great for you even if you’re on a diet because of the high fiber and calcium in it.
Dinner spinner for me now!
My boyfriend was cooking tonight and half way there he got really upset because he realized that we have no coconut milk at home. It was a bit to late to go out and get some. Suddenly I remembered your recipe and in less than 10 minutes his smile came back once he could finish his delicious meal with freshly made coconut milk. Great! Thanks a lot.
Well Bash, your comment sure put a smile on MY face! Right on! Such a nice story because let me tellya, I’ve been there many times. I just love, love, LOVE making my own coconut milk on a whim, just like that. All you need is a couple of handfuls of dry coconut in the larder and BAM — you’re half way done! ;-)
Hi Helene,
I have started buying coconut milk and cream and thought there must be a better way that aluminium cans! Yay. Ok, now my question is, how nutritious is desicated coconut? Does it have chemicals or anything added to it? Just wondering. I’ve not checked out the canned stuff either, so it might also have issues. Thanks for your great blog, you are an inspiration.
Penny
Hi Penny — You asked some great questions here! I have to admit I have asked myself these same questions but haven’t found time to do the research yet. I also wonder about the process of drying the coconut and would love to know more because I expect it’s dried with heat and so can’t be used by those readers who follow a pure raw food diet. Here is a link to the nutritional value of regular (unsweetened) dessicated coconut. And there is another nice overview of the nutritional breakdown of coconut on this page. On this page is a close look at the processing of dessicated coconut from one Indonesian producer. (Though it doesn’t state the temperature of the drying kilns, which I am most curious about.) Though I buy my dried coconut in bulk from the organic section of the health food store, it’s also possible to peek at the packaged variety on store shelves to see if any additives are listed. I’ll be looking into this question further as time permits and invite others who are in-the-know to contribute their opinions and knowledge.
Just made the coconut cream & milk for the first time. While it was cooking I had a lot of liquid running down my thermi from the lid. Is this normal?
I scraped my own fresh coconut & used that instead of the packet ready to use. I wonder if their would be a difference? My coconut cream did not look as creamy as the tin coconut cream.
Hi Jacqui:
The only time I’ve ever had liquid run down the machine from the lid was when I
one ortwice accidentally put the lid on without having the seal/ring in place. Usually if this happens the machine won’t start but occasionally it does… and makes a mess. But probably what happened is that you used too much water :( (Sorry you had trouble, but the recipe above is for making milk from dessicated coconut.) When using anything but desiccated coconut, the ratio of water to coconut changes. Here’s what the experts say, as per the excellent instructions in the Thermomix cookbook “Fast and Easy Indian Cooking”.Use 100g – 300g. coconut meat, brown skin removed, broken into 3 cm pieces OR unsweetened desiccated coconut. Water in these proportions: 3 times the weight of the fresh coconut meat OR 6 times the weight of the dry coconut. Thanks for your question Jacqui … I’m now going to add this note in the recipe above.
Hi Helene
Thank you very much I am going to make it again today….
Thanks so much for this! The Indian Cookbook has been out of stock down here in Tasmania ever since I discovered TM (end of Feb 2012). This will keep me going til my order comes in! ;)
Hi Marmie — Glad to hear you found this milk method. It’s such a rewarding ingredient to make at home. Now about that Indian Cookbook…. “Fast and Easy Indian Cooking” is one of the best TMX books so it’s really worth the wait. In the mean time, if you are looking for more to “keep you going” , take a look at these recipes on the Thermomix UK site. The reason I’m linking to these for you is because Janie Turner who is the director of Thermomix UK is one of the authors of that Indian Cookbook. And Janie has put some videos on YouTube and recipes on the Thermomix UK site that may well interest you as well. Enjoy!
I’m itching to get my hands on that book, too, but I really can’t buy another cookbook this year, so that’s already on my Christmas list along with Tenina’s “For Food’s Sake”.
And this coconut milk recipe is just awesome, I use it all the time and save lots of money.