Coconut milk is a necessity in the kitchen if you are looking to make some tasty and different meals. But the annoying thing about this ingredient is that a lot of recipes will only require you to use half a can, or a fraction of the can. Using the whole can in a recipe could ruin it, so you are left with part of a can of coconut milk.
You absolutely can freeze coconut milk, but the process of freezing coconut milk is likely to alter the texture of it. This is not necessarily a major problem, but you will need to keep this in mind if you were hoping for an easy storage and leftover freezing solution!
This guide will give you some tips and tricks for freezing coconut milk, as well as go into detail about the benefits of doing so, and the challenges that may face you when you try to freeze coconut milk.
But the short answer is that you can freeze coconut milk, nothing bad will happen when you do so, but keep reading to get a sense of all of the things you should be aware of when you want to freeze your leftover can of coconut milk.
How to freeze coconut milk
The first thing to know about freezing your coconut milk is that it falls under the list of some of the simplest ingredients to freeze. You will not be needing to purchase any specific kitchen tools or utensils; you just need a regular container with a lid. Make sure this is airtight, which most containers you can freeze are.
Here is a step by step of how to freeze your left-over coconut milk:
Step one: pour or scoop the rest of the coconut milk you aren’t using in your recipe into a container. Extra tip: if you want to be super savvy, you can pre-portion the rest of your coconut milk into portion sizes and put them in separate containers.
Step two: put the lids on the containers and make sure they are tight so that no air is likely to get into the coconut milk. Extra tip: if you have pre-portions and there are different measurements of coconut milk in each, you can label the different containers with the name of the recipe that you are going to use it for, and even the exact measurement that is in there!
Step three: you are done! Transfer all of your containers with the lids on to the freezer and you can worry about them when you take them out.
How long can you leave them in the freezer? Well, most people tend to try and take things out of the freezer after a month or two, and we find that this applies to coconut milk too. It won’t spoil, but it’s probably for the best to take it out before three months.
How to defrost coconut milk
Now you have reached the part of the process that may require more work. If you remember, we said at the start that freezing coconut milk is simple, but the process after the fact is a little more complicated. Complicated may be a stretch, but we will explain what you have to do to defrost your coconut milk.
By this point, a month may have passed, and you might have found another recipe that requires half a can of coconut milk. Aha! Instead of needing to buy a completely new can, you remember that you have a perfectly measured amount in the freezer.
Here is a step by step guide (and two different options) of how to defrost your well prepared frozen coconut milk:
Option one: think ahead! If you know that you are having a meal that requires some coconut milk, ideally you want to thaw it out in the fridge overnight. Eight hours should be enough time in the fridge to thaw out the coconut milk.
Option two: if you haven’t thought that far ahead and need the coconut milk sooner than eight hours’ time, you can also submerge the lidded container in some warm water. This will speed up the thawing process.
It’s that simple! You will have thawed coconut milk that is almost ready to use. After both of these methods, you will be left with a strangely textured coconut milk. It will appear thicker and different to fresh coconut milk from a new can. They best way to fix this is to blend it up with a hand blender. This will smooth out the texture and your coconut will be ready to be used in your next recipe!
Factors to consider before freezing coconut milk
The main things to keep in mind are that you will need some sort of hand blender or food processor that is able to churn up the newly thawed out coconut milk. You do not want to use freshly thawed out coconut milk in your food without blending it.
Another thing to consider is that you can be even more well prepared with your coconut milk freezing skills if you plan your meals ahead. If you know exactly what meals you are going to prepare in the week, you can prepare some exact measurements of coconut milk in freezing containers.
You will need to blend the freshly thawed coconut milk for about a minute, or until it is even in texture, this is when your coconut milk will be ready to be added to your meal. If you don’t blend it before adding to your meal, your food will taste odd and the milk will add a strange texture.
Summary
In conclusion, you can definitely freeze coconut milk. In fact, this is the perfect way to reduce your food waste since a lot of recipes call for less than a full can of coconut milk.
You can plan ahead and measure out your required amounts of coconut milk then freeze them for future meals.
Make sure to blend the coconut milk when it is thawed before you use it in your cooking!