page_title: Coconut milk
section_title: Processed coconut milk products
hierarchical_section_title: Coconut milk / Processed coconut milk products
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of coconut being grated, ready to make coconut milk in Chiang Mai, Thailand
context_page_description: Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingredient used in Southeast Asia, Oceania, South Asia, and East Africa. It is also used for cooking in the Caribbean, tropical Latin America, and West Africa, where coconuts were introduced during the colonial era.
  Coconut milk is differentiated into subtypes based on fat content. They can be generalized into coconut cream with the highest amount of fat; coconut milk with a maximum of around 20% fat; and coconut skim milk with negligible amounts of fat. This terminology is not always followed in commercial coconut milk sold in western countries.
  Coconut milk can also be used to produce milk substitutes. These products are not the same as regular coconut milk products which are meant for cooking, not drinking. A sweetened, processed, coconut milk product from Puerto Rico is also known as cream of coconut. It is used in many desserts and beverages like the piña colada, though it should not be confused with coconut cream.
context_section_description: Commercially processed coconut milk products use largely the same processes to extract coconut milk from pulp, though they use more mechanical equipment like deshelling machines, grinders and pulverizers, motorized coconut shredders, and coconut milk extractors.
  
  They differ significantly in the bottling or canning process, however. Processed coconut milk are first filtered through a 100 mesh filters. They are pasteurized indirectly by double boiling at around 70 °C (158 °F), carefully not exceeding 80 °C (176 °F), the temperature at which coconut milk start to coagulate. After pasteurization, they are immediately transferred to filling vessels and sealed before being cooled down. They are then packed into bottles, cans, or pouches and blast frozen for storage and transport.
  Manufacturers of canned coconut milk typically combine diluted and comminuted milk with the addition of water as a filler. Depending on the brand and age of the milk itself, a thicker, more paste-like consistency floats to the top of the can (a gravity separation, similar to traditional methods), and is sometimes separated and used in recipes that require coconut cream rather than coconut milk. Some brands sold in Western countries undergo homogenization and add additional thickening agents and emulsifiers to prevent the milk from separating inside the can.
  Due to factors like pasteurization, minimal contact with oxygen, and additives like antioxidants, processed coconut milk generally has a longer shelf life than traditionally prepared coconut milk. It is also more efficient than traditional methods at extracting the maximum amount of coconut milk from grated coconut.
caption: Mechanical coconut grinder
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