Coconut milk – How to make your own coconut milk
After paying $5 a gallon for coconut milk at the grocery store, I decided to make some of my own. For this you will need a Champion juicer, a raw coconut and a little water. Other juicers may work, but I haven’t tried them. My supermarket sells coconuts for about 99 cents each. Each coconut will make about 24 ounces of coconut milk. You can also use a blender to grind the meat and strain it through cheesecloth.
Coconut milk contains natural enzymes and oil from the coconut. This milk is rich in lauric acid. Lauric acid is antimicrobial, antiviral and is an excellent antioxidant.
Coconuts are easy to open. I use a rolling pin and hit it on the end where the eyes are. You’ll probably have to hit it more than once. Put the coconut in a bowl and collect the water as it comes out. You can mix this with the milk later.
The outer shell should come off in pieces. Hit the coconut with the rolling pin if the shell is difficult to remove. Remove the husk completely and cut or break the coconut into one-inch pieces. I also had to use a spoon to dig under the meat to remove it.
Turn on the Champion or whatever juicer you’re using, place the coconut pieces in the bin and push them in with the push lever. After chewing a couple of pieces in the juicer, squeeze some of the coconut water through. This should produce a white milk in the juice bowl. Continue to alternately insert coconut and pour water. The chewed meat should be ejected from the juicer after a few minutes. After milking about 1/2 a coconut, you may need to clean the meat out of the juicer and start over. This ground coconut can be used in other dishes just like grated coconut.
That is all. Store coconut milk in the refrigerator and consume within a week. It’s good mixed with juice, protein powder, or on its own. The coconut oil and pulp will separate, so you’ll need to stir the milk. That’s why I keep it in a jar with a lid.
Use coconut milk as a replacement for regular milk. Use it on your cereal or just drink it neat. It’s delicious and good for you. Be sure to use it within a week or two. Like all fresh produce, it will spoil.