[1][2] The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat.

[5][7] In a 100 milliliter (ml) portion, coconut milk contains 230 kilocalories and is 68% water, 24% total fat, 6% carbohydrates, and 2% protein (table).

Coconut milk is a relatively stable oil-in-water emulsion with proteins that act as emulsifiers and thickening agents.

They are also differentiated in modern standards set by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

[1][12] Polynesians may use special bundles of fibre from sea hibiscus, heliconia or the coconut itself called tauaga to wring the milk from the meat.

[12][15] Traditionally prepared coconut milk is utilized immediately after being freshly extracted because it spoils easily when exposed to air.

[3][4] As coconut cream contains a higher amount of soluble, suspended solids, it works well as a good ingredient for desserts and rich and dry sauces.

From Island Southeast Asia, it was carried along with the sea voyages of the Austronesian expansion both for colonization and trade, reaching as far as Polynesia in the east, and Madagascar and the Comoros in the west in prehistoric times.

[12][21][22] 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.

[21][22][23][24] More modern mechanical coconut graters dating back to the mid-1800s consist of serrated blades with a hand crank.

They are pasteurized indirectly by double boiling at around 70 °C (158 °F), carefully not exceeding 80 °C (176 °F), the temperature at which coconut milk starts to coagulate.

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 recipes 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.

It is produced by adding maltodextrin and casein to coconut cream to improve fluidity and then spray drying the mixture.

[36][37] Coconut cream can also be added to soy milk in the production of tofu to enrich its caloric density without affecting its palatability.

[39] It was originally produced by the Puerto Rican company Coco López and is used most notably in piña coladas in the United States.

[45] 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.

In Indonesia, coconut milk is used in various recipes ranging from savoury dishes – such as rendang, soto,[48] gulai, mie celor, sayur lodeh, gudeg, sambal goreng krechek, and opor ayam – to sweet desserts, such as serabi, es cendol and es doger.

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[50] and nasi dagang,[51] rendang,[52] laksa,[53] gulai[54] and Tamil and Mamak style-curry, it is also used in dessert-making such as kuih lapis,[55] kaya[56] and dodol.

[57][58][59] Coconut milk is widely used to make traditional Filipino kakanín (the generic term for rice pastries), including bibingka and biko, among others.

[citation needed] In Brazil, coconut milk is mostly used in northeastern cuisine, generally with seafood stews and desserts.

Cendol is a popular iced drink from this region containing chilled coconut milk and green jellies made of rice flour.

In Brazil, for example, coconut milk is mixed with sugar and cachaça to make a cocktail called batida de côco.

[72] Coconuts are widely produced in tropical climates and exported globally as canned products, most frequently to North America and Europe.