This How to Make Fresh Coconut Milk tutorial will have you milking coconuts like a pro in no time!
Being dairy-free I use a lot of coconut milk in my kitchen. I use it a lot in curries, baking and sauces, but once it is chilled the solid part can be whisked like regular whipping cream for baking and desserts.
So first things first, you need to open your coconut.
Hammer a large clean nail into two of the three ‘eyes’ and drain the water out.
Next I hold it in my left hand (I’m right handed) and whack it along the belly with the back (NOT the blade!) of a heavy kitchen knife. Don’t try this with a flimsy bread knife or similar, it’ll only work if you have a monster of a knife.
If you are monster-knife-less, hold as above and instead whack it with the hammer all around the centre. Keep going and I promise it will split although I don’t find this method as quick or as accurate as with monster knife.
Next to extract the flesh from the shell, I cut down into the flesh with a sharp vegetable knife, then use a blunt table knife to prise out the meat.
Woohoo! That’s the tough bit over!
Throw the flesh and the juice into your blender. Now, I must make a point here that I am lucky enough to have a Froothie Optimum 9400 which is a high power blender capable of grinding paving slabs up into dust. Not sure how my old hand-me-down blender would have coped with this job so please don’t shout at me if it causes yours to conk out. Just take as a sign from the gods to go and invest in a Froothie :)
Pour 200ml of warm water on top of the coconut and give it a darn good blitz. The Froothie power blender took about 1 minute to turn it into a puree, if you are using a regular blender it may take longer.
Pour the yummy smelling sludge into a nut milk bag or muslin, and squidge and squeeze until every last tasty drop of milk is extracted. Pop in the fridge until needed.
And what to do with the leftover bit? Well, mine is currently spread out in a very low oven and once it’s dry I shall pop it back in the Froothie and make coconut flour which is perfect for baking with.
Glamorous Glutton says
I love the simplicity of this and I bet it tastes much better than the tinned stuff. Really beautiful photos. GG
Jane Sarchet says
Mmm, it’s delish GG! Thank you :)
Janie x
sarah says
Would love to have a go at this!
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Sarah, thanks for stopping by & taking the time to comment :) It is ever so easy to do and the results are perfect!
Janie x
Anita-Clare Field says
Wow, this looks great. I am hoping our nurtibullet will suffice. I love coconut water and oil, we use a lot of it in our cooking too. Fabulous post.
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Anita :) I haven’t played with a nurtibullet so finger crossed!
Janie x
Sophie says
I can’t believe how easy you make this look! Never even thought of making my own coconut milk but will have to give it a try now.
Jane Sarchet says
Maybe not as quick as opening a can Sophie, but works out cheaper and is fun to do :)
Janie x
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
The thing about making you own coconut milk is that first you get to drink the coconut water, then you get the milk and I bet you can do fun things with the left over pulp too.
Jane Sarchet says
Yep, I now have a free batch of coconut flour :)
Janie x
Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says
WOW! You made that look incredibly easy :P I don’t know if my old kenwood is up to the trick….worth trying though! Thanks for sharing :)
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks for the lovely commetn Emma :)
Janie x
Choclette says
Ah Janie, this is what I should have done. I made a coconut smoothie using the whole coconut, but didn’t try draining it first – it was horrible (texture not taste). Next time, I will try your method first before adding any other ingredients.
Jane Sarchet says
Oh no, really? The side benefit of doing it this way is you’re left with a bunch of coconut flour too ;)
Janie x
Emma says
Wow, I use coconut milk alot but have never even thought about making it myself, great post x
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Emma :)
Janie x
Jess @ Along Came Cherry says
Yum! We don’t eat much dairy in our house either as my OH is allergic and I only eat natural yoghurt. Love coconut milk! x
Jane Sarchet says
It is a life saver if diary is off the menu, and it’s so versatile. Thanks for popping over Jess :)
Janie x
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel says
SWEET! so glad i found this. thank you!
Jane Sarchet says
You’re most welcome ;)
Janie x
Zena's Suitcase says
I thought it would be a lot trickier than that. I think coconut milk is great, thanks for sharing this
Lou Foti says
Fabulous Janie, great little tutorial. I’m not dairy free but seem to get through quite a bit of coconut milk these days. And now have a major case of Froothie envy! Flour from the leftovers is truly inspired too…..
Jane Sarchet says
Waste not want not Lou ;)
Janie x
roger says
hi.here in the Philippines we get the coconut meat and put it in a strainer pure water over it the water turned milky. The left over meat we give then to our Muscovy.
Jen says
I’d never thought of making my own coconut milk but it’s an excellent idea if you can get free coconut flour as well.
Jane Sarchet says
Exactly, it’s a very tasty win win!
Janie x
Karen says
God, I LOVE my Froothie and I need to make this now too Janie! Karen xxx
Jane Sarchet says
Serious bit of kit isn’t it Karen? I just take all that power for granted now and reckon I’d break a regular blender in no time if I went back to them!
Janie x
Chloe King says
I love seeing the effort that goes in to creating ingredients we take for granted when bought in a can from the supermarket. Think it makes me appreciate what we have. A vegan friend has a method of making ‘coconut mascarpone’ which I’m dying to steal, I think it involves straining the heavy part of a can of coconut milk through muslin overnight.
Jane Sarchet says
Oh Chloe that sound like a fab idea, and being dairy free a trick that I could put to very good use! Have you tasted it, is it yummy?
I’ll have a look on pinterest to see if there’s anything similar on there & get back to you ;)
Janie x
Nayna Kanabar says
I use a lot of coconut milk but am too lazy to make coconut milk at home. Since I too have a froothie I will make it in that.
Jane Sarchet says
It’s easy peasy Nayna, cheaper and you know exactly what’s going into your milk (ie nothing other than coconuts!)
Janie x
Heather says
Am I being a bit slow, just that when making the flour from the shell, what about the hairs on it?
Jane Sarchet says
Hey Heather, as you hold the shell you may get a teeny amount of the hair in the bowl, but generally speaking the hairs stay attached to the shell, which gets binned.
Does that help?
Janie x