MAKE YOUR OWN COCONUT BLOCKS EASILY

[Martinwhynot]

I recently picked up a bag of cheap dessicated coconut from our local supermarket.  My daughter hates it in curries as it makes the curry taste of 'bits'. ?!?

Anyway I have a fairly decent blending machine (it crushes ice and turns sugar into icing sugar) so I thought I'd give it a whirl for a laugh....

Flip! It worked very well, turning the dessicated flakes into a soft dough like consistency.  I then places the 'dough' into the bag it came from.  When I made my daughter a Korma tonight it had turned into a crumbly version of the coconut blocks we buy for quite a lot more - and it worked perfectly.

Just thought I'd share that one as it's my only way from now on!

Regards,

Martin 

[George]

I recently picked up a bag of cheap dessicated coconut from our local supermarket. 

What a useful discovery! Did you add any water, milk or anything before turning on the blender?

And where do you buy the dessicated coconut so cheaply? I think Lidl may sell it. Does your method produce a larger and heavier block, at lower cost, than you'd buy in that form?

[Martinwhynot]

George,
Thanks for the question.
I only added the 'dry' coconut. I suppose the moisture inside the fruit, once crushed by the blender's blades, then brought the moisture out.
I didn't actually measure/weigh the result but as I added nothing the result would/should have been what I started with (I suppose!)
Either way it was soft initially (heat from all the friction in the blender?) but then it hardened when it cooled down. Not as hard packed as a standard block but then again I wasn't aiming for that; it just ended up that way. Next time I will shape into a block, etc.
Regards,
Martin

[Peripatetic Phil]

I recently picked up a bag of cheap dessicated coconut from our local supermarket.  My daughter hates it in curries as it makes the curry taste of 'bits'. ?!?

I agree with your daughter !  I used to really enjoy Chicken Ceylon until I first detected the "taste of bits"; once I realised what the bits were, I never ate it again.  Sad, really.

** Phil.

[Martinwhynot]

Maybe you can revisit it now, without the bits lol!

[George]

Is there any advantage over ready made creamed coconut because, upon further examination, it seems that dessicated and creamed versions are quite similar prices.

Dessicated coconut
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Sainsburys_Desiccated_Coconut_250g.html

38p per 100g


Pride Cream of coconut

47p per 100g

http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Pride-Pure-Creamed-Coconut.html?kw={keyword}&fl=1000&ci=15820262768&network=pla&gclid=CKCBgfOWw7QCFaTMtAodcmAAdw

[Martinwhynot]

George,
Indian grocers sell large bags of the stuff so keeping it desiccated means you have access to both types I suppose. Also, it's a good thing to recollect if you're out of the cream version, as I have before.

[George]

I'll definitely be on the look-out for low cost dessicated coconut after your discovery. I didn't realise, before, that they are very similar products - dessicated and creamed coconut. On some websites, they give the main (almost sole) ingredient of creamed coconut as dessicated coconut. The factories are probably doing what you're doing, just on a much larger scale, blending to get from dessicated to creamed.