I’ve been working on a raw vegan coconut whipped cream that uses homemade raw vegan coconut milk for a while now. I have a vegan coconut whipped cream recipe that uses canned coconut milk, but it is technically not raw, since the cans are pasteurized. But that “not raw” version that uses the canned coconut milk is a better choice probably for the most of you, since it’s inexpensive and less labor intensive.
Since I share mostly raw vegan recipes here on the blog, I was on a quest to make the “not raw”, into raw! It took a lot of trial and error, and after many coconuts, I finally got it to work. The key was making the homemade coconut milk correctly. So this recipe is sort of an intro to next week’s raw vegan coconut whipped cream recipe. Fresh made coconut milk is excellent for making all kinds of Asian and tropical dishes and is devoid of any additives.
Homemade coconut milk is traditionally raw and vegan to begin with. It is made from grated coconut meat from a mature coconut and water. That’s it! Just 2 ingredients. You’ll be able to find young coconuts and mature brown coconuts at the market, however for this you will need the mature brown coconuts. I couldn’t find any organic ones anywhere, so I had tot get the conventional cocnuts from the nearby Asian market. They had the best deal at $1.49 each.
When you are picking out your coconut, you need to look for a few things.
1. Pick the ones that feel heavy for their size.
2. Shake the coconut and make sure you hear the sound of coconut water sloshing inside.
3. There are three eyes on the bottom of the coconut. Try to find the ones with eyes that aren’t black and moldy.
To open the coconut, first you drain the coconut water. You can do this by using a screw driver. Poke the three eyes firmly with the screw driver. One of them should feel softer than the other two. Force the screw driver into the softest eye until it pierces all the way through the coconut shell, and reaches the center. Drain out the coconut water. Coconut water from a mature coconut is not as sweet as that of a young coconut. Some people dislike the flavor and discard it, but you can use it in baking or smoothies. I personally don’t mind the flavor, so I usually chill it in the fridge and share it with my puppy. She loves coconut water and coconut meat.
Once the coconut water is drained, it’s time to crack open the coconut! You’ll need a cleaver, knife or hammer for this. Hold the coconut sideways firmly in your hand. Give it a good whack in the middle of the coconut, where the perimeter is the largest. Then turn the coconut slightly and hit it again and turn. Repeat and hit the entire equator until a crack appears that goes all around the coconut. The hitting sound changes from a high pitch sound to a dull sound once the coconut shell starts to crack. When there’s a crack going all the way around, set the knife down and split open the coconut with your hands. Voila! You’ll find some beautiful white thick coconut meat inside. To scrape the meat out, slide a butter knife in between the hard outer shell and the coconut meat, and pry it out. If you have a hard time getting the meat out, pop it in the freezer for 30mins to 1hour. This will make it come out easier. Peal off the brown skin with a vegetable peeler or knife, then chop them up into smaller pieces. Be careful not to cut yourself when you are peeking the skin since the coconut meat is pretty firm.
Put the coconut meat and water into the blender and blend for about 3 minutes. If you own a Vitamix, use the tamper to help it macerate, so there is no larger pieces left behind. It’s essential you blend it well here, as this will help release the coconut fat into the water, making it into a richer milk. When I was experimenting with raw coconut whipped cream, I found that if I didn’t blend thoroughly here, the milk had less fat, resulting in failure when it came to separating the coconut milk to make the whipped cream.
Pour out the coconut slush into a nut milk bag, and ring it out well into a bowl. If you don’t own a nut milk bag, you can do it the old fashion way. Set a sieve on top of a bowl, then pour the coconut slush into the sieve. Ring out the coconut pulp well with your hands inside the sieve.
Don’t discard the pulp! If you dry it with a dehydrator, it turns into coconut flour. Line the dehydrator tray with a mesh sheet then the silicone sheet. Spread out the pulp thin and evenly and dry on 115℉ (46℃) for about 12hours until it completely dries out. You can use the flour for raw desserts or baking. Kept it in an air-tight container in a dark cool place, it should last for several months. I like using it in place of coconut flakes in my raw vegan coconut bacon recipe for a savory option, so you can use it as a topping to re-purpose it.
There you have it! Fresh made coconut milk! How beautiful. Fresh is always best.
You can use it in Asian and tropical recipes, or sweeten it with your favorite sweetener with a dash of vanilla extract and enjoy it as is, or make chia puddings with it. Store the milk in an air tight container in the fridge. It will last about three days. Next week, we’ll use this to make raw vegan coconut whipped cream. Stay tuned!
- 1 mature coconut
- 1¼ - 1½ cups of water (depending on how thick you prefer)
- To open the coconut, poke the three eyes firmly with a screw driver. One of them should feel softer than the other two. Force the screw driver into the softest eye until it pierces all the way through the coconut shell and reaches the center. Drain out the coconut water.
- Hold the coconut sideways firmly in your hand. Give it a good whack in the middle of the coconut, where the perimeter is the largest. Then turn the coconut slightly and hit it again and turn. Repeat and hit the entire equator until a crack appears that goes all around the coconut. The hitting sound changes from a high pitch sound to a dull sound once the coconut shell starts to crack. When there's a crack going all the way around, set the knife down and split open the coconut with your hands.
- Scrape the meat out by sliding a butter knife in between the hard outer shell and the coconut meat, and pry it out. If you have a hard time getting the meat out, pop it in the freezer for 30mins to 1hour. This will make it come out easier. Peal off the brown skin with a vegetable peeler or knife, then chop them up into smaller pieces. Be careful not to cut yourself when you are peeling the skin since the coconut meat is pretty firm.
- Put the coconut meat and water into the blender and blend for about 3 minutes. If you own a Vitamix, use the tamper to help it macerate, so there is no larger pieces left behind. It's essential you blend it well here, as this will help release the coconut fat into the water, making it into a richer milk.
- Pour out the coconut slush into a nut milk bag, and ring it out well into a bowl. If you don't own a nut milk bag, set a sieve on top of a bowl then, pour the coconut slush into the sieve. Ring out the coconut pulp well inside the sieve.
- Store in the refregirator in an air-tight container. Keeps for 3 days.
You can make coconut flour with the leftover pulp. Line the dehydrator tray with a
mesh sheet, then the silicone sheet. Spread out the pulp thin and evenly and dry on 115℉ (46℃) for about 12hours until it completely dries out. You can use the flour for raw desserts or baking. Kept the flourt in an air-tight container in a dark cool place, it will last for several months.
Leave a Reply