All About Coconut Milk And Vegetable Curry

Many people often confuse coconut water with coconut milk, however both these terms are very different from each other. Coconut water is the transparent, sweetish, watery liquid found in young green coconuts. As the coconut matures, this liquid gradually gets absorbed by the surrounding flesh of the coconut. Coconut milk is the diluted milk or cream extracted from the meat of a well matured coconut. The white flesh or the matured meat is grated finely and steeped in hot water until it is cool enough to handle.

This mixture is then strained and squeezed to obtain the coconut milk.

Depending on the consistency required for a particular coconut milk recipe, the process is repeated and the milk is extracted that many times from the grated meat. However commercially available coconut milk or coconut milk sauce is derived by pressing grated matured coconut meat without water, using heavy specialized machinaries.

Coconut And Vegetable Milk Health Benefits

Although coconut milk is linked with high saturated fat values, many studies prove that it is good quality saturated fat which can metabolize in the body quickly to supply instant energy. Unlike other saturated fat sources, the saturated fat from coconut milk is not linked to the conversion of bad cholesterol which blocks your arteries. Remember the major type of fatty acid found in coconut milk is lauric acid, the same fatty acid found plentiful in mother’s milk. This fatty acid helps to promote normal brain development and also healthy bones. Compared to other polyunsaturated oils the saturated acid from coconut milk is less likely to cause weight gain. It also has important anti-pathogenic and anti-carcinogenic properties.

Coconut milk is a common cooking ingredient in many recipes and is generally used to prepare coconut milk sauce and coconut milk desserts. Although many fats are vulnerable to heat, the fats in coconut milk are heat resistant and so cooking coconut milk does not cause the degradation of these fats. Coconut milk gives a rich color as well as flavor to many types of gravy, soups, shakes, mock tails, sweets and savories. Coconut cookies are also a very common coconut milk recipe.

Cooking coconut milk is mainly done to break down the cream (a thick layer on top of the coconut milk) from the milk and let the oil separate from the milk. This is generally done on high heat for special Asian dishes, especially Thai coconut milk sauce gravy. As a result of this, these gravies have a thin layer of oil floating on top which gives the dish a pleasant appearance.

Submitted on January 16, 2014