Homemade coconut milk

So we normally buy canned coconut, but this morning we ran out and I remembered that we had some shredded coconut that I bought a looooong time ago and was planning on making some coconut milk with it. Well now was the perfect opportunity! When buying coconut, it's really important to choose coconut that has nothing other than coconut. No sugar, no sulfates, no nothing. I tried making coconut milk before with coconut that contained sulfates and it smelled like sulfur - gross!!

Recipe: (for approx 3.5 cups of milk)

2 cups shredded coconut
3-4 cups boiling water (or less if you want to make coconut cream)

Instructions:

1. Measure the shredded coconut into a 1 L glass measuring cup

2. Pour the boiling water over the shredded coconut until the total volume is 4 cups.

3. Let the mixture soak for half an hour or so. But don't wait until it's completely cooled down.

4. Pour the hot (but not scalding) mixture into a blender and blend on high for 2-5 minutes. (The time will depend on how powerful your blender is).

5. Once the mixture is completely blended, pour into a nut-milk bag, or pour it through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

6. Once it has all dripped through, squeeze the nut-milk bag or cheesecloth to get the remaining milk out.

7. Place in a jar in the fridge and store for up to one week, or freeze for up to a year.

It is really yummy to drink on it's own, warm with a dribble of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top! Perfect way to warm up on a cold winter's day!

This coconut milk tastes much better then canned coconut milk in my opinion, and you don't need to worry about guar gum or BPA. Guar gum is commonly added to coconut milk to thicken it, and BPA is in the lining of most cans.