Fresh coconut milk is very simple to make.  It’s not as simple as opening a can, but I’ll give you a few good reasons to try it.  First, and most importantly, fresh tastes better.  And your curries, smoothies and frozen desserts will taste better, too.

You’ll avoid BPA (Bisphenol-A, a chemical found in the lining of cans that leaches into food) and other unnecessary additives.

And then you’ll also have another tasty ingredient, coconut flour, which you can make from the leftover pulp.  It’s a versatile, gluten-free flour with more fiber and less carbohydrates than whole wheat flour.  So why not crack open a coconut and get two essential ingredients, milk and flour, made fresh?

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Fresh Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

• Meat from one coconut (here’s how to get fresh meat from the coconut)
• 2 cups water (bottled, filtered, or whatever you like to drink)

Directions:

Use a vegetable peeler to remove any remaining brown fiber on the coconut meat from the inside of the shell.

Place the meat in a food processor or high-speed blender.  Turn the machine on for about 30 seconds with just the coconut, then slowly drizzle in the water from the top shoot and continue to process for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy white with few visible particles.

Line a mesh sieve with several layers of cheesecloth (or use a nut milk bag) and place it over a bowl or pitcher.  Slowly pour the mixture through the cheesecloth.  Allow it to strain for at least 30 minutes.  Once most of the liquid has drained you can fold the cheesecloth over the pulp and squeeze it every once in a while.

Reserve the pulp for coconut flour.  Refrigerate the milk and use it within a week.

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Coconut Flour

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spread the leftover coconut pulp over the parchment and bake at 250 for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pulp is completely dry.

For finer flour, the dry pulp may be ground even more in a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder.  Store the flour in the fridge in an air-tight container and use within two weeks. For longer storage, put it in the freezer.