Coconut Milk / Cream

What are Young Thai Coconuts?

• The meat in a young coconut is softer and more gelatinous than a mature coconut, so much so, that it is sometimes known as coconut jelly.

Where and how to buy a Young Thai Coconut:

• You can find these coconuts in Asian grocery stores, WholeFoods and now I am even seeing them in some Safeway stores.
• Look for coconuts that don’t have any cracks in the bottom of the nut.
• Avoid any bluish or purplish coloring on the bottom of a coconut.

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Ingredients to make coconut milk or cream:

• 2 young Thai coconuts (if each coconut doesn’t provide at least 1 cup of meat you might need to use more coconuts)
• Enough water to cover the coconuts in the blender and 2 inches above
• Special note *to make 1 cup of heavy cream, blend 3 cups of young Thai coconuts in the blender without any liquid, until it becomes thick and creamy.

Preparation:

1. Scoop the meat out of the young coconuts and place in a blender
2. Add the water – you could use part water and part coconut water, enough to cover the meat by 2 inches.
3. Blend on high for at least a minute until perfectly smooth.
4. Store in a glass jar and use within 3-4 days.

*Tastes great with your green drinks, sauces, dressings,  smoothies, tea, frozen as a Popsicle, or used in raw desserts.

In these photos I am trying to demonstate the consistency of coconut cream.  As you drizzle the cream it should
create a small puddle, somewhat building upon itself.  Kind of hard to explain but I hope that made sense.

 

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How to store your coconuts:

• Refrigerate them in the coldest section of the fridge.
• These organic young coconuts will last about seven to 10 days if kept in the coldest part of your fridge. You can also scoop out all the meat and water, blend it up and freeze it for later use.

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Amazing facts on Coconut Water from Bruce Fife

• Coconut water has its own unique health benefits completely separate from coconut oil. Coconut water is essentially fat-free, so its health benefits are not associated with medium-chain fatty acids, like they are with coconut oil. Its benefits come from a combination of vitamins, ionic minerals, amino acids, enzymes, plant hormones, antioxidants and other phytonutrients.
• You may have heard that coconut water has been used for intravenous (IV) therapy. This is 100 percent true. I’ve gathered dozens of studies from around the world documenting this fact and describe some amazing stories where coconut water IVs have saved lives when commercial IV solution has failed. Studies from the Philippines, Thailand, India, Uganda, Nigeria, Indonesia, New Zealand, Britain and the United States have confirmed the effectiveness of IV coconut water. The simplest way to use coconut for IV therapy is to insert a needle into the soft “eye” of the coconut. Tubing from this needle goes directly to another needle which is inserted into the vein of the patient. The coconut water goes straight from an unopened coconut into the bloodstream of the patient.
• Coconut water is so compatible with the human body it is now being marketed as a “natural” sports rehydration beverage. As a rehydration beverage it is FAR superior to Gatorade and other commercial sports drinks.
• The benefits don’t stop there. Coconut water helps dissolve kidney stones, protects against cancer, helps balance blood sugar, provides a source of ionic trace minerals, improves digestion, feeds friendly gut bacteria, helps relieve constipation, reduces risk of heart disease, improves blood circulation, lowers high blood pressure, improves blood cholesterol levels, helps prevent arteriosclerosis, enhances immune function, and possesses some remarkable anti-aging properties (certain components of coconut water are now being incorporated into anti-wrinkle face creams).

Posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 9:55 am. Filed under: Beverages, Raw Techniques, Special Ingredients RSS 2.0 feed.