Coconut Milk beverage

[mezzaluna]

Have any of you used this? I bought the unsweetened (green carton) today. It was the calorie count that got my attention (50 cals. per 8 ounces). It's dairy free, vegan, gluten-free, etc. I'm interested in it as a sub for milk in making ice cream. It has a creamy texture and mouth feel.

 

[french fries]

I looked at their web page, here's the list of ingredients for the unsweetened one:

INGREDIENTS: Coconut Cream (Water, Coconut, Guar Gum), Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D-2, L-Selenomethionine (Selenium), Zinc Oxide, Folic Acid, Vitamin B-12.

I'd rather buy natural Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream, which doesn't contain all those hard-to-pronounce mysterious ingredients.

 

[chrisbelgium]

I wouldn't worry too much about those ingredients. What my arteries are worried about coconut milk is the very high content of saturated fats!

 

[chefedb]

Have not used these ,but bad cholesterole  causing effects of the canned coco milk and cream are well known. Gum is thickening agent, carrageenan for color, vit. A D & folic acid naturally occurring

both phosphates help preserve. Selenium a natural chemical, trace amounts found in some plants.Good for health.

 

[vegangirl]

While you cannot substitute these beverages for canned coconut milk in most recipes (including ice cream), this is the only "milk" I use in all of my dairy-free cooking and baking when ordinarily you'd use dairy, soy, almond, or rice milk. It adds a wonderful flavor and lovely texture to baked goods. The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut are not the same as the unhealthful saturated fats found in animal-based foods. Medium-chain fatty acids have actually been shown to protect against heart disease. And these beverages contain only a fraction of the fat and calories of canned coconut milk. As a replacement for milk, I highly recommend them. As a replacement for canned coconut milk, it doesn't compare.

 

[chefedb]

The first ingredient he posted was coconut cream, so therefore the finished product seems to be watered down coconut cream. Like adding water to regular milk and then calling it lowered fat or reduced fat.

 

[french fries]

The first ingredient he posted was coconut cream, so therefore the finished product seems to be watered down coconut cream. Like adding water to regular milk and then calling it lowered fat or reduced fat.

Ed, that's what I thought too, but how come "water" isn't listed as an ingredient? Is that legal for them to not list "water" as an ingredient? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/confused.gif

 

[chefedb]

it did say water according to what you wrote as ingredients.

 

[french fries]

it did say water according to what you wrote as ingredients.

As part of the coconut cream, yes. I thought coconut cream was a specific ratio of water to coconut, which made something pasty/thick/creamy, at least thicker than coconut milk, so not really a beverage. Or can you call coconut cream just about anything? Can you sell diluted coconut milk and call it coconut cream in the ingredient list?

 

[chefedb]

When reading a label what this is saying I believe is that they are adding water as an inert ingredient to already extracted coconut cream, and Guava gum for thickening.

 

[french fries]

When reading a label what this is saying I believe is that they are adding water as an inert ingredient to already extracted coconut cream, and Guava gum for thickening.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "already extracted coconut cream"? I believe that Coconut Cream (Water, Coconut, Guar Gum) simply means that one of the ingredients is  "Coconut Cream", and that that Coconut Cream is itself made out of Water, Coconut and Guar Gum.