page_title: Coconut milk
section_title: Coconut graters
hierarchical_section_title: Coconut milk / Traditional preparation / Coconut graters
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kokosnuss-Ausschaber in Laclo, Osttimor English: Coconut scraper in Laclo, East Timor Sunda: Kukuran sederhana
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: Manual coconut graters are a standard kitchen equipment in households in the tropical Asia-Pacific and Eastern Africa, underscoring the importance of coconut milk and coconut oil extraction in the Indo-Pacific. They reached as far as Polynesia before European contact via the Austronesian expansion.
  The basic design of coconut graters consist of a low bench or stool with a horizontal serrated disk (made of metal in Asia and Africa, and stone or shell in Oceania) attached on one end. A person sits on the bench and repeatedly scrapes the inner surface of halved coconut shells with both hands over the metal disk. The scrapings are gathered by a container placed below.
  More modern mechanical coconut graters dating back to the mid-1800s consist of serrated blades with a hand crank. This version is believed to be a British invention.
caption: Traditional coconut grater
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