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Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature . The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high coconut oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingredient used in Southeast Asia, Oceania, South Asia, and East Africa. It is also used for cooking in the Caribbean, Central America, northern parts of South America and West Africa, where coconuts were introduced during the colonial era.
Coconut milk is differentiated into subtypes based on fat content. They can be generalized into coconut cream (or thick coconut milk) with the highest amount of fat; coconut milk (or thin coconut milk) with a maximum of around 20% fat; and coconut skim milk with negligible amounts of fat.NIIR Board of Consultants and Engineers (2025). 9788178330075, Asia Pacific Business Press Inc.. . ISBN 9788178330075 (2025). 9789177739487, Tetra Pak International S.A.. ISBN 9789177739487 Coconut cream can be dehydrated as coconut milk powder, with a far longer shelf life.This terminology is not always followed in commercial coconut milk sold in Western countries.
Coconut milk can also be used to produce (sometimes differentiated as "coconut milk beverages"); these products are meant for drinking, not cooking. A sweetened, processed, coconut milk product from Puerto Rico is also known as cream of coconut, but is distinct from coconut cream and is not interchangeable. It is used in many desserts and beverages like the piña colada.
Coconut milk is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of manganese (40% DV per 100 g), with no other in significant content (table for USDA source).
The Asian and Pacific Coconut Community standardizes coconut milk and coconut cream products as:
| + Range of fat by weight in coconut cream and milk (APCC Standards)
! Product
! Fat content (%m/m) |
The Codex Alimentarius of the FAO standardizes coconut milk and coconut cream products as:
| + Classification of coconut milk and cream (CODEX STAN 240-2003, Codex Alimentarius, FAO) ! Product ! Total solids (%m/m) min.–max. ! Non-fat solids (%m/m) min. ! Fat (%m/m) min. ! Moisture (%m/m) max. ! pH |
Coconut milk can also sometimes be confused with coconut water. Coconut water is the clear fluid found within the coconut seed, while coconut milk is the extracted liquid derived from the manual or mechanical crushing of the white inner flesh of mature coconuts. Coconut cream should also not be confused with creamed coconut, which is a semi-solid paste made from finely ground coconut pulp, and cream of coconut, which is a processed product made from heavily sweetened coconut cream.
Coconut milk is traditionally divided into two grades: coconut cream (or thick coconut milk) and thin coconut milk. Coconut cream contains around 20% to 50% fat, and (thin) coconut milk contains 5% to 20% fat. Coconut cream is extracted from the first pressings of grated coconut pulp directly through cheesecloth. Sometimes a small amount of hot water is added, but usually coconut cream is extracted with no added water. Thin coconut milk is produced by subsequent pressings after soaking the squeezed coconut pulp with hot water.
Gravity separation can also be used to derive a top layer of coconut cream and a bottom layer of coconut skim milk. This is achieved by simply allowing the extracted liquid to stand for an hour. Conversely, coconut cream can be diluted into thinner coconut milk by simply adding water.
Traditionally prepared coconut milk is utilized immediately after being freshly extracted because it spoils easily when exposed to air. It becomes rancid after a few hours at room temperatures due to lipid oxidation and lipolysis. Rancid coconut milk gives off a strong unpleasant smell and has a distinctive soapy taste.
As coconut cream contains a higher amount of soluble, suspended solids, it works well as a good ingredient for and rich and dry . Thinner milk contains a lesser amount of soluble solids, and is mainly used in general cooking. The distinction between coconut cream and thin coconut milk is not usually made in Western World as fresh coconut milk is uncommon in these countries, and most consumers buy coconut milk or cream in cartons or cans.
Coconut milk is also an intermediate step in the traditional wet process methods of producing virgin coconut oil by gradual heating, churning, or fermentation. These methods, however, are less efficient than coconut oil production from copra.
The basic design of coconut graters consists of a low bench or stool with a horizontal serrated disk (made of metal in Asia and Africa, and stone or shell in Oceania) attached on one end. A person sits on the bench and repeatedly scrapes the inner surface of halved coconut shells with both hands over the metal disk. The scrapings are gathered by a container placed below.
More modern mechanical coconut graters dating back to the mid-1800s consist of serrated blades with a hand crank. This version is believed to be a British Empire invention.
They differ significantly in the bottling or canning process, however. Processed coconut milk products are first filtered through a 100 mesh filters. They are pasteurized indirectly by double boiling at around , carefully not exceeding , the temperature at which coconut milk starts to coagulate. After pasteurization, they are immediately transferred to filling vessels and sealed before being cooled down. They are then packed into bottles, cans, or pouches and blast frozen for storage and transport.
Manufacturers of canned coconut milk typically combine diluted and comminuted milk with the addition of water as a filler. Depending on the brand and age of the milk itself, a thicker, more paste-like consistency floats to the top of the can (a gravity separation, similar to traditional methods), and is sometimes separated and used in that require coconut cream rather than coconut milk. Some brands sold in Western countries undergo homogenization and contain additional thickening agents and emulsifiers to prevent the milk from separating inside the can.
Due to factors like pasteurization and minimal contact with oxygen, processed coconut milk generally has a longer shelf life than traditionally prepared coconut milk. It is also more efficient than traditional methods at extracting the maximum amount of coconut milk from grated coconut.
A similar product found throughout Southeast Asia is coconut jam. It is known as matamís sa báo in the Philippines and uses only coconut milk and sugar. However, the coconut jam versions from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore ( kaya); Thailand ( sangkhaya); Cambodia ( sankiah); and Vietnam ( banh gan), add eggs in addition to sugar. The latter versions are sometimes anglicized as "coconut custard" to distinguish them from the version without egg. Coconut jam and coconut custard have a thicker, jam-like consistency and are used as ingredients or fillings in various traditional desserts.
In Malaysia, coconut milk is one of the essential ingredients in a lot of the dishes, this includes a few of the popular dishes in the region, such as the ubiquitous nasi lemak and nasi dagang, rendang, laksa, gulai and Tamil and Mamak style-curry, it is also used in dessert-making such as Kue lapis]], Coconut jam]] and dodol.
In the Philippines, diverse dishes cooked in coconut milk are called ginataan]]. They can range from savoury dishes to desserts.Myke Sarthou (2025). 9789814634946, Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN 9789814634946 (2025). 9781433039706, International Business Publications. ISBN 9781433039706 Coconut milk is widely used to make traditional Filipino cuisine kakanin]] (the generic term for rice pastries), including bibingka and biko, among others.
In Thailand, coconut milk is used in dishes such as tom kha kai, khao tom mat, mango sticky rice, and tom yum.
Coconut milk is used to make traditional Venezuelan dishes, such as majarete (a typical Venezuelan dessert), and arroz con coco (the Venezuelan version of coconut rice).
Sweetened coconut milk, and coconut milk diluted with water are two popular coconut beverages in southern China and Taiwan.
The jelly-like pulp from the inside of the coconut is often added to coconut water to make a tropical drink. In Brazil, for example, coconut milk is mixed with sugar and cachaça to make a cocktail called batida de côco. Puerto Rico is also popular for tropical drinks containing coconut, such as piña colada and coquito, which typically contain coconut milk or coconut cream.
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