Ingredient: Coconut – cream
Category: Nuts
Season: All
Coconut cream is an infusion of shredded coconut and water.
Coconut cream may also be made with milk instead of water to obtain a richer product.
Coconut cream is very similar to coconut milk, but contains less water. The difference is mainly consistency. It has a thicker, more paste-like consistency, while coconut milk is generally a liquid.
Creamed coconut is not the same as coconut cream.
Creamed coconut is a very concentrated coconut extract without the water.
Like coconut oil, it is hard at a low room temperature.
It is basically coconut cream concentrate, and can be made into coconut cream by mixing it with water, or into coconut milk by mixing it with a larger amount of water.
It is typically sold as a 200ml block in a plastic bag inside a small box.
In the UK, it is widely and cheaply available (from £0.30 to £1.00 per 200ml block)
In Asian convenience stores and in the Asian sections of large supermarkets.
Coconut cream is high in healthy medium chain fatty acids and is very rich in flavour.
Coconut cream is used in Piña Coladas, and its nonalcoholic variant Virgin Piña Coladas.
Bangladeshi cooks often add coconut cream to rice to give it some flavour.
This comes in block form and can be used to enrich curries and sauces. All you do here is grate it, then, using a whisk, blend it with boiling water to a creamy liquid. |