Coconut milk is a popular non-dairy beverage that's easy to find at grocery stores. Unlike dairy milk, it's lactose-free, which is helpful for people with lactose intolerance or allergies to milk proteins.
Nutritionally, coconut milk is similar to cow's milk in terms of calories and saturated fat, but it's lower in protein. It also contains more fiber than cow's milk, which is important for people who have digestive issues like diarrhea or gas.
There are two types of coconut milk on supermarket shelves: one that you pour into coffee, tea, or smoothies and another that you use for cooking. These differ based on how much of the coconut is blended with water and how processed they are.
How Coconut Milk Is Made
A thick, cream-like liquid is extracted from the flesh of a mature coconut. This is then mixed with water, sugars, emulsifiers, vitamins, and minerals.
What You Need to Know About Lite Coconut Milk
There's something called "lite" coconut milk that's sold in cans, which looks more watery and is thinner than regular coconut milk. These products tend to have added stabilizers, gums and flavorings.
Light coconut milk isn't as full-flavoured as regular coconut milk, so it's not always the best option when it comes to recipes. For the best results, we recommend using regular coconut milk for most dishes and thinning it with a flavourful liquid, such as good stock. You can also add extra water to light coconut milk to make it more fluid if you need to.