If you like to eat Thai food and know a thing or two about Indian cuisine, you might already be familiar with coconut milk. In fact, for many people who like to make curries, coconut milk is usually a staple on their grocery list.
Adding just a few splashes in your pan is going to enrich the flavor and introduce a creamy, nutty texture.
However, in many cases, the coconut milk taste can become quite excessive and difficult to bear in different foods. If you end up adding more coconut milk or use cream of coconut instead of the milk, there is a pretty strong chance that it is going to overpower the entire dish.
That’s simply not something that you want, so it might be a wise idea to learn how to neutralize the taste of the coconut milk or get rid of it completely. There are several methods that you can use to completely get rid of the taste of coconut.
Here are some common steps that you can take to get rid of the coconut milk taste.
Do Not Use Sweetened Coconut Milk
If you are new to cooking with coconut milk, one of the most common mistakes that you are likely to make is to use sweetened coconut milk. That’s a bad idea, and it could really increase the amount of added sugar in your food.
In many cases, you will find cases of sweetened coconut milk on the shelves, so it’s important that you check which one you are buying.
Even though it may not be specified in the recipe, you should know that almost every recipe that requires you to use coconut milk is usually referring to the unsweetened variant. As you might know, coconut milk is naturally sweet in itself, so adding more sugar to it is just a terrible idea.
This is going to help you neutralize the taste of coconut by a considerable margin and make things easier for you.
Use an Alternative
You should know that there are several alternatives available to using coconut milk. Instead of sticking with coconut milk, which is obviously going to be a bit heavier and thicker in taste, you can consider alternatives such as almond milk or soy milk.
Almond milk is a pretty popular replacement for coconut because it also has the same nutty texture and taste.
Furthermore, you should know that it is also considerably lower in calories. Not only that, but the flavor is neutral as well, making it a suitable choice for use in smoothies or for baking purposes. If you want to add almond milk in cereal, you can easily do that as well.
But, you should know that the fat content in almond milk is considerably lower than coconut milk. So, if you want the thick creaminess that the coconut milk delivers, you will have to take a slightly different approach.
You can add a dash of coconut flour to increase the thickness, and it’s also going to provide a tinge of coconut flavor as well.
Then, you have cashew milk. Cashew milk is commonly used in sauces and soups, and it is also found in smoothies. The texture is smoother and much creamier than other kinds of milks.
More importantly, you can also use cashew cream, which is considerably thicker and has a higher fat content.
Understand the Difference Between Light and Full Fat Coconut Milk
You can’t simply interchange and use light coconut milk or full fat coconut milk. Appreciating and understanding the difference is important.
Full fat coconut milk is slightly thicker, and the taste is much more pronounced. If you are going to use the coconut milk in a curry, you will be able to detect the difference quite easily.
However, if you are going to use the coconut milk for a smoothie or just add very less to improve the taste of your dish, you can do that as well. However, if you are using the coconut milk in a cake or to make ice cream, you should know that the light coconut milk will have a less rich texture.
Stirring and Shaking
Arguably the most common mistake that people make when cooking with coconut milk is that they do not shake and stir the can properly. This is a common mistake because it simply means that the flavor is not going to be evenly distributed in the carton.
If you take a look at the instructions on the carton or the case, you will notice that it also tells you to shake well and then use. The creamy texture means that the flavor will sink to the bottom, so it’s important that you shake and stir as best as you can.
These are just a few tips to help you reduce the coconut milk taste.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.