What's the difference between coconut milk in the can and the beverage in the box?

[ViolaMum]

I mean, besides the obvious packaging difference. :giggle

Are they interchangeable in recipes?

[relizabeth]

I mean, besides the obvious packaging difference. :giggle

Are they interchangeable in recipes?

Ohh, good question. :cup

[Kiara.I]

I don't have a can of coconut milk around. But, the beverage version is designed to be a milk alternative. It has added Vitamin D, folic acid, zinc oxide, and some other stuff. (I have the vanilla flavour, so some of the additives may come from that.

The coconut milk in a can is just the meat of the coconut squeezed, then soaked and re-squeezed, possibly with water added as filler (according to wikipedia, anyway.)

[cbmk4]

yeah, what the pp said. The stuff in the carton has guar gum, I think and other vitamins added. It's good, but not as good as the stuff from the can. It's cheaper than the canned stuff, though.

[teamommy]

The ones in the carton often have sugar added, also. And are more watered down.

[BeachMama]

Are you talking about the refrigerated beverage? As others said the "beverage" has various other ingredients added. The canned coconut milk should just be coconut milk. I looove powdered coconut milk from WildernessFamilyNaturals.com I keep it in my freezer. It is pricey though. (I get it in a coop occasionally.)

[ViolaMum]

So, the carton is watered down?

Which would one use to make, say coconut yogurt? I'm assuming that I can just use the carton to sub for milk in baking breads and muffins, but I'm wondering if the can would work better for custards. I've always used the can in coconut rice, or Thai food, but the carton had me intrigued and rethinking recipes. I'll bet it the carton has a less pronounced coconut flavor. :scratch

[Iarwain]

:popcorn

I have a question too. Can the carton kind substitute for the can kind in recipes?

[Kiara.I]

I would guess you can't substitute them. The carton is about the consistency of milk. A little thicker, but basically pourable and drinkable. The cans, on the other hand, tend to be more the texture of condensed milk--you *can* still pour it, but it's really thick.

So, actually it depends on the recipe. If you're making soup, for instance, the consistency difference wouldn't matter much. But if you're making some kind of baking, the consistency would matter a lot. If it called for milk, and you used the canned stuff, you'd probably need to add more liquid. If it called for canned coconut milk and you used the carton, you'd have too much liquid, and not enough coconut flavour.