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Non-dairy milks are becoming quite popular. However they are also pretty pricey. Many also have additives that you don’t really want in your milk.
My non-dairy milk of choice is coconut milk. I don’t like the estrogen properties in soy and one of my boys is allergic to nuts, so coconut is our choice. Plus coconuts just have so many amazing benefits!
Making my own coconut milk saves a ton of money! 1 can of coconut milk is about $2.29! If I make my own it only costs $0.38 for the same amount!!!!
Plus if I were to buy the canned milk (which is what homemade coconut milk is like; not the carton stuff, that’s just watered down canned coconut milk really. Carton coconut beverages are about $0.78 per cup by the way.) I’d be getting it in BPA lined cans. So homemade is the way to go!
Homemade Coconut Milk
Equipment:
Blender
Muslin (4 layers of cheesecloth can be used instead)
Colander
Bowl
Ingredients:
2 cups warm – hot water
1 cup dry unsweetened shredded coconut
Directions:
Heat water but do not boil. Place all the coconut and 1 cup of water in the blender.
Blend for 2-3 minutes. Line your colander with muslin and set colander on top of bowl.
Pour the blended coconut mixture into the muslin.
Twist and squeeze the muslin to extract the milk, let milk drip into the bowl.
Once this is done, return the coconut pulp to the blender and add the remaining 1 cup of water.
Blend for 1-2 minutes. Pour into muslin and twist and squeeze to remove milk.
The leftover dry pulp can be used to make macaroons or granola.
Makes about 1 ½ – 2 cups of milk
Coconut milk does not have a long life. It is recommended to use it within 3-5 days.
Homemade coconut milk is like canned coconut milk with all the fat. Thus the cream will solidify on the top when refrigerated. Simply stir back in as you would with canned coconut milk.
Silk is selling coconut milk now and so does So Delicious. That is what we have to use since DD is allergic to soy and dairy and I am EBFing. It tastes awesome and has a similar consistency to cow's milk which is good for recipes. What are the benefits of coconut?
My only concern with Silk and So Delicious is that it's not pure coconut milk. They add sweeteners, thickeners, and other chemicals. Not really what I want. Also they are ultra pasteurized which while it gives it a longer shelf life, it also destroys more nutrients. I wish a company would make real coconut milk with the consistency that SIlk and So Delicious does but without the yucky stuff.
As for the benefits, check out my post on coconut oil. The oil and milk share a lot of the same benefits, like lauric acid and both are good for weight loss and the immune system.
Thanks! Have you tried making it with fresh coconut? I am assuming the dry coconut like the bagged variety.
I haven't made it with fresh coconut. That is more of a difficult task then I was wanting. 🙂 So yes, I just used the dry shredded coconut that comes in bags (unsweetened of course)
I tried this but I couldn't find unsweetened anywhere so I used sweetened. It was so delicious. I think it could be frozen that way and made into Popsicles.