Coconut Milk "whipped cream"

[kjbrown92]

I've tried this a few times unsuccessfully.

Has anyone tried using the kind of whipped cream maker that comes with some kind of compressed air/charge (I looked at the Chef's store and it was $60 -- I'm not willing to spend that much unless I know it works for coconut milk and it tastes really good that way!).

I'm thinking about experimenting with gelatin... has anyone tried that? For you gelatin people, would I dissolve it some cold water first, and then add it to the whipping coconut milk and a little sugar?

I'm doing make-you-own sundaes for G's birthday tonight and she asked is I could figure out whipped cream for her...

[dannic]

I've wondered about gelatin with it. Like a coc mousse? I've tried the freezer-type recipe and it worked okay...but it's a lot of work.

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by dannic

I've wondered about gelatin with it. Like a coc mousse? I've tried the freezer-type recipe and it worked okay...but it's a lot of work.

The one where you freeze then whip, freeze then whip? I tried it and it didn't work at all.

[dannic]

Yup. It worked okay for us, but you just had to keep it in the freezer and eat it fast, lol. We had it with pumpkin pie. Even ready whip melts eventually. Sorry, I'm no help. Is it G's bday today? happy birthday, G!

[kjbrown92]

It was yesterday. I didn't attempt it. Maybe I'll try to make banana cream pie and make the whipped cream. I have been craving a lot of sweets lately...

[emilysmama]

Can you use cream of tartar? or is that a no-no for your family?

[kjbrown92]

We can use cream of tartar...

[dannic]

I had wondered about cream of tarter too...I was up for a bunch of experiments today and crashed. Cleaning instead.

[emilysmama]

Two caveats

1. I've never used a whipped cream maker before.
2. I've never tried coconut milk. We can't do coconut: meat, oil, or milk

But this is what I have tried, using one of those electric mixers.

It was last July, the day of the Wimbolden Finals on TV. I had strawberries and whipping cream, and I thought my husband would like to have some of the traditional strawberries and whipped cream. But what to do for my dd who can't have dairy?

soy milk and a little bit of safflower oil (or some kind of oil), with a little bit of granulated sugar to taste, in a mixing bowl. Tried to whip it in an ice water bath like you'd do it for regular whipped cream, but no whipping occurred. So I added a little bit of cream of tartar. The results were dramatic. Air started to incorporate rapidly, and the whip stayed for a really long time. I think it stayed for at least several hours in the refrigerator, maybe even a full day. The next day, no longer whipped, but I used the mixer to rewhip, and it was fine. Not as good as the original mixing, but still very good.

Coconut milk probably has plenty of fat, so you don't need the additional oil, but I've never actually tried it.

[kjbrown92]

Interesting. I just made a banana cream pie (not really pie since I didn't do crust; I just put sliced bananas in the bottom of the pie plate, and put the banana pudding-ish stuff on top. It's chilling in the fridge now. I also have a can of coconut milk chilling in the fridge. I'm wondering about just using the top half of it that will be solid when I open the can. I guess I'll use maple syrup for the sweetener (I used agave in the pie and don't have any more). Any idea how much cream of tartar to use? I'm wondering if I should do that AND a little gelatin, or just try the cream of tartar.... hmmmm.... Of course I could do one today, and if there's any pie left, do the other one tomorrow... I hope that pie chills quickly! I was trying to make a pie that everyone could have. Not easy. But it happens to be banana day for DD2 so I thought I'd try it.

[dannic]

that sounds really good, Kathy. I've got some bananas--hmm...I really ought not to use the coco milk...hmm...why not try the tarter and then add gelatin if needed?

[kjbrown92]

So I used beet sugar (seems to be "stiffer" than cane sugar and I figured DD2 wouldn't have much, if any) and coconut milk, and vanilla. Added cream of tartar. Didn't do anything. Added gelatin. Didn't do anything. Added more cream of tarter. Still didn't do anything. Tasted it. Very acid because of the cream of tartar, so I dumped in the other half of the can of coconut milk, and added 5 times as much gelatin as I had at the beginning. Still NOTHING. Same exact puffiness as before, which is to say: none. It tasted good, but certainly not whipped.

And my banana cream pie was more like banana cream soup (though the taste was delicious). Didn't set. Back to square one on both experiments.

[emilysmama]

Hmm...
I was going to say that it only takes a tiny pinch of cream of tartar to get the soy milk to whip up. Plus, you are right, I also used vanilla extract. I did chill the soy milk and safflower oil in a stainless steel bowl. (Also chilled the beaters.) Then I put the SS bowl in an ice water bath, and whipped away.

I was also going to say that I don't think you just have to use the solid stuff part of the coconut milk. My guess would have been that the liquidy part of the coconut milk would have been fine because you need to make it easy to incorporate air. I only guess that because the soy milk that I use is just soybean and water and it's very runny, not thick like coconut.

Hmm... Now this is really bothering me.

Okay, I just opened up a can of coconut milk. It's been years since I've looked at it. I knew that the cream rises to the top, but I'd forgotten that it's so inhomogeneous. The cream part is really solid and the milk part is so clear, just like water.

Maybe the problem is that the fatty part of the coconut milk is solid, not liquid? I think that's why some kind of liquid vegetable oil was needed to whip up the soy milk so that you could get some kind of suspension going with the oil? Not sure how to get this to happen with the coconut. Somehow, we have to make the liquid and solid more mixed up. The only way I can think of would be to melt the coconut cream and then mix it into the thin part of the coconut milk. But then I thought you are supposed to whip these kinds of things cold? Because if you got it cold, then is would resolidify and separate, I guess. Unless, and here is another thought, you started with the coconut warm, whipped in in an ice bath, and kept changing ice baths to get the coconut milk cooler while whipping.

Or, I suppose that you could try some kind of safe oil that is liquid at room temp (that is, if your family even has one, but I don't think I recall that you have one), but that would kind of defeat the purpose of using coconut milk, I think.

So I have an opened can of coconut milk chilling in the refrigerator, but now I wonder if it should be heated so that the cream and milk can be mixed together. Not sure what to do. This is really bothering me...

The can I opened is THAI brand coconut milk. (Not the lite stuff.) Maybe the lite stuff would work better?

[emilysmama]

I googled whipped coconut milk and I got this:
http://nomilk.com/coconut.txt
If you scroll to the very bottom, they have their recipe and hints. Their method is very simple, as you can see.

and this...
http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals....onut-cream.php
They say it is simple as well, as long as you use coconut cream without any coconut milk. But they are talking about the coconut cream that comes in a box, not in a can. Could that make a difference? They also talk about using superfine sugar instead of granulated sugar. I wonder if that matters? I wouldn't think so. (I have some somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look for it right now, and I'm too lazy to make a substitute.)

this one is a little more complicated...
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/milk/messages/9244.html
and I can't figure out why they want soy powder


and this...
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=977859

this one is interesting...
http://www.thehealthycookingcoach.co...ped-cream.html
Lots of raves, but no actual recipe available to adapt, without buying the cookbook.

the way these people talk:
http://deliciousnutritiousfrugalicio...am-recipe.html
It should be easy. Maybe it needs to be really high speed?

Hmmm....
http://www.ehow.com/how_5430006_make...ped-cream.html
These people say that you need to refrigerate the can for AT LEAST 7 days before opening to separate out the liquidy part. Interesting.

If you go to ...
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lo...onut-milk.html
And scroll down to #10, the first recipe looks promising.

[bosch]

This is way, way easier than you think.

Use canned coconut milk (full fat) but DO NOT shake the can. Open it carefully and scoop out the "cream" on top. Whip with electric or stand mixer. I've sweetened with agave with no problems, but you need to be careful about adding too much because it might not let the cream "set up". I've never been faithful about keeping everything super-cold, either.

That's it. No gelatin, no other additives. Seriously.
If too much of the "milk" from the bottom of the can gets into the "cream", you will have problems with it whipping up.

This stays frothy in the refrigerator for days, too.

[kjbrown92]

I've already tried the "just take the cream off the top and whip it method" - didn't work. Added just a little sugar - also didn't work. I've tried the freeze and whip, freeze and whip, freeze and whip method - also didn't work. I'm using a Kitchenaid mixer with whip attachment. I've done it at low. I've done at high. I feel like Dr. Seuss. It doesn't whip up... hmmm... what's the brand you're using where it whips up just fine? Does it have any kind of gum in it? THAT might be what's needed vs. gelatin. I've got about 6 cans of coconut milk left. Time to run some more experiments... well, after I get some of the kids off to school.

[bosch]

I used Thai Kitchen brand, I think. It does have guar gum in it, so maybe that helps?

I just stuck it in my stand mixer and walked away. It took a long while, but it happened eventually. I usually make whipped cream by whipping it by hand, but I just can't do it with coconut cream.

[FireWithin]

Kathy I do think the gum is important. I've had some good experiments and some bad and I am suspecting it is gum. Could you add some karaya?

[kjbrown92]

Of course I can add karaya. I think I need whipped cream on the coffee cake I just pulled out of the oven, don't you?

[FireWithin]

sigh. drool.

enjoy
maybe I will make some coffee cake for tomorrow morning. should get my grains soaking.