Coconut milk has lots of great benefits. It is used for cooking, and it is great as a beauty product.
When used for cooking rice, it tastes better than the canned coconut milk. The homemade coconut milk is also better because it is free of preservatives.
Materials used for coconut milk
Coconut
Hard object for cracking/breaking the coconut (preferable, a hammer)
A knife for prying out the coconut milk
A sieve/strainer (with very tight holes) or a cheese cloth
A blender or dry mill, or grater
Bowls
Hot water (as needed)
Preparation
First, crack to open the coconut and place a cup over it to collect the water.
Break the coconut to smaller pieces, using a small knife. Pry out the coconut meat from the shell and place in a bowl of clean water.
Wash the coconut meat and cut it into several pieces and place in a blender or dry mill.
If you don’t have a blender, don’t cut the coconut meat into tiny pieces. Simply grate the coconut using the smaller sides of your grater.
If you are using a blender, add a little warm water into it and grind the coconut meat into a very smooth paste. If you are using a dry mill, grind the coconut meat without any water added.
Pour the grated or milled coconut into a wide bowl, add a little warm water, mix well and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
Pour out the mixture through a sieve/strainer (with very tight holes) or a cheese cloth and squeeze with your hands to make sure that you get all the milk out. Place the coconut chaff into a bowl and add a little more warm water. Repeat the same process until the milk you get is no longer ‘’milky.’’
If the coconut milk is for making coconut oil or rice, use as needed and preserve the remaining in the freezer.
