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i've seen many posts on coconut oil as a source of healthy saturated fat. the thing is i love the taste of coconut milk and hardly ever use coconut oil. is coconut milk just as good? i get the thai kitchen brand that has no preservatives, just guar gum.

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9 Answers

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From NutritionData.com:

My interpretation of the data:

  • Coconut milk contains similar fat content. I'd guess that coconut oil is essentially just coconut milk with the water removed.
  • Coconut milk contains much more mineral content. 500mg of potassium in a cup is nice.
  • Coconut milk has some protein and carb content but the amounts are negligible. The carbs shouldn't be a big deal for anyone but a zero carber.

So it seems pretty good from this!

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6 
 Coconut milk is basically just coconut meat (the same as dessicated coconut or coconut cream); coconut oil conversely is just the oil extracted from the coconut. As a consequence the oil is far lower in micronutrients, but also contains none of the sugars. – David Moss Feb 21 2010 at 19:28
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I usually buy fresh coconuts. The ingredients can be divided into 3 categories. 1) Coconut water- the liquid that first comes out when you puncture the shell. 2) Coconut cream - I dig out the meat and pass it through my juicer. The 4 or five table spoons that come out is what I consider my cream, which has the deepest flavor. 3) Coconut milk- I think the industrial process that is used is that the ground up coconut is cooked in water and then filtered. When I do it I get a lot of shredded coconut that I sometimes use, but usually I put it in a pot just covered with water and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then I filter the water. Whenever I make Curry Chicken in Coconut Milk, I use my version of cream and milk. The water I just drink for the magnesium. This way I know I'm not getting any added extras and since I live in the tropics, coconuts are like 15 cents if I buy in bulk as opposed to paying 2 dollars for a can.

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1 
 How do you dig out the coconut meat? I'm having a bit of trouble doing that. – kylemurphy Feb 22 2010 at 0:52
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 I'm guessing that RLR is buying fresh coconuts, not dried ones like we find in the north The flesh is still soft and is easy to dig out of the shell. In Mexico the top is often whacked off to create a natural drinking container. They drink the milk either plain or with alcohol added, then cut the container open and pry out the flesh and eat it with hot sauce. – henny Feb 25 2010 at 21:32
I think RLR is talking about fresh coconut which is much softer than the dry ones we get in the north. In Mexico the top is whacked off the coconut with a machete, the liquid is drunk through a straw (with or without alcohol added), then the coconut is broken open to pry out the soft flesh, which is usually eaten with hot sauce. – henny Feb 25 2010 at 21:36
whoops! first time it didn't go through, then both did! – henny Feb 25 2010 at 21:37
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It's good. I wish it wasn't in a can though with all the debacle about BPA and it usually does have some preservatives, though they are mostly harmless. Creamed coconut is more desirable in my book though. It has ALL the fat....everything! It's a world above coconut milk in deliciousness.

Many people, when they cook thai recipes, use coconut milk. But real Thai people that I know use at least half creamed coconut.

There is a creamed coconut that comes in a glass jar too. It's super expensive, but I get it at a discount at my coop.

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2 
 Right after I wrote that, I saw the Swedes are having a discussion on Guar Gum in coconut milk paleodiet.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1612 Some parts are in English – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Feb 21 2010 at 13:51
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 Oooh yes I love creamed coconut! I agree with you that it's a lot yummier than coconut milk - so much so that I nibble on blocks of creamed coconut by itself. Oh, and this: melted creamed coconut + melted dark chocolate + a splash of coconut milk, mix and refrigerate for a while... = the yummiest chocolate fudge/mousse ever! Ok, rhapsody over. – archaea Feb 21 2010 at 19:49
What are you talking about? Creamed Coconut? The only 'creamed coconut' that I have ever seen has tons of sugar added to it. – Bill1102inf Nov 30 2010 at 1:21
Yeah, a lot of it does have sugar added, the one I linked to doesn't. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Nov 30 2010 at 2:30
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I would say it depends. Coconut milk also contains a good amount of sugar, I think it's even fructose for the most part. Now, I don't believe that should be a problem for anyone and I usually end up consuming quite a lot of coconut milk within a week. However I thin one should still be aware of it.

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 There is no sugar in Coconut milk unless it is a processed brand Thai Kitchen Organic coconut milk has no sugar. – Suzan Feb 22 2010 at 21:55
Suzan, sure it does. The carbohydrate content in the Thai coconut milk, or any coconut milk for that matter, is the sugar that the responder is referring to. – ben61820 Jul 16 2010 at 0:56
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How do you dig out the coconut meat? I'm having a bit of trouble doing that. – kylemurphy 22 hours ago

With a flathead screw driver. Works pretty good.

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Check out http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/ for coconut milk. Am able to get it in the southwest. Comes in a 1/2 gal container like milk...not in a can.

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Thanks for the link Dexter- I can check that product out on the way home. – henny Mar 7 2010 at 16:58
it seems like the So Delicious brand is much more water than actual coconut milk. I am guessing it's not really as beneficial. Any thoughts? – MikeD Jul 15 2010 at 20:16
I don't like the fact that it contains a bunch of other ingredients besides coconut cream. :-( – W8liftinmom Jul 16 2010 at 1:56
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Coconut milk actually is more healing to the gut lining than coconut oil(info from Robb Wolf). Other than that, they're both great!

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Good amount of sugar? My coconut milk contains 1g of carbs per 400ml can.

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Hmm, well that seems an unusual small amount to me. If you took the nutrition facts data it would add up to roughly 10g per 400ml, which still isn't much. I could swear that the one I use contains even more. I could be wrong though, have to look it up. – Matthias Feb 21 2010 at 19:14
Coconut milk should be just coconut meat (unless it's had sugar added to it), so it should work out at about 1g sugar per 60 calories, which is pretty reasonable. I can't guess how much that would be per ml, because clearly coconut milk can be more or less dilute. – David Moss Feb 21 2010 at 19:40
It's actually 1g/sugar per 100g of coconut milk, I just checked. – Bleicke Feb 21 2010 at 19:42
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Coconut oil comes from the coconut milk. There is about 3-4 tablespoons of oil in one mature coconut. Both are good for you, so you can use whichever on you like.

It is better that you make your own coconut milk though, because the canned milks are very diluted. You can also make coconut oil at home too.

http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-coconut-milk.html

http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-virgin-coconut-oil.html

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