06 Mar DIY Coconut Milk

I stumbled upon this great recipe for DIY coconut milk from Elana’s Pantry. I often make my own nut milk, but I had yet to venture into making coconut milk. Commercial milk products, while convenient, tend to be laced with unsavory products such as carrageenan, which I’d prefer to avoid. I also try to avoid canned products whenever possible, so I was really keen to give this a try.

Coconut milk makes a terrific and delicious base for smoothies, curries, sweet potato mash, chia pudding, etc. I liked the recipe for its basic ingredients and simple steps. For this version, I added vanilla and maple syrup. I plan to make a batch without vanilla or syrup as I intend to use it for savoury dishes. I encourage you to experiment with this. I can only imagine how delicious it would be with a little raw cacao…..

It calls for use of a nut milk bag, and I’ve been really happy with the nut milk bags from Rawsome Creations, plus you’re supporting a worthy cause. (I’ve seen some suggestions to use pantyhose, but, uhmm….really?)

DIY Coconut Milk

2 cups unsweetened organic shredded coconut (I used Organic Traditions)
4 cups filtered water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Add coconut to filtered water and let soak for 1 to 2 hours. This will make blending easier. Please do not discard the soaking water, just dump everything into your blender. Blend at high speed. Strain liquid through nut-milk bag. Store milk in glass container. The milk should keep for 3 to 4 days. The milk will separate, so give it a good mix before serving.

You may wish to save the remaining “pulp”. I put mine in the dehydrator and plan to make macaroons with the pulp….will let you know how they turn out.

Robb made the world’s most delicious smoothie using the coconut milk as a base. He blended coconut milk, banana, raw cacao, maca, hemp and Sun Warrior protein powder….oh my!!