Can coconut juice be used as a substitute for coconut milk?

Lori Lyn Narlock
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  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

pauljoseph September 22, 2011
We never substitute coconut juice to coconut milk better you buy a can of coconut milk
 
Lori L. September 21, 2011
Thanks, everyone. I ended up mixing half coconut juice and regular milk. The consistency was okay but the juice was a tad too sweet. Still it wasn't a complete disaster.
 
sarabclever September 21, 2011
Let me add--I used "coconut milk drink" instead of coconut milk in a cake and frosting. The cake turned out fine (maybe a bit dry), but the frosting was a disaster. What should have been a buttercream looked like, as my sister said, "half and half gone bad." Sad (and pictures of that ugliness are on my blog, if you dare). I had never used coconut milk before and didn't realize what it was supposed to look like and how thick it was. I learned my lesson!
 
jwlucas September 21, 2011
I recently bought a few cans of coconut juice with plans to make rice -- coconut flavor with less fat. Based in you comment abve, I feel pretty confident this will work nicely.
 
beyondcelery September 21, 2011
If the coconut milk is just being used as a liquid in quick bread or muffins, yes, it'll probably be fine. (At least, I'd give it a go.) Keep in mind that coconut juice is a lot thinner than coconut milk and coconut milk has a high fat content. Note whether the coconut juice is sweetened; if it is, I'd leave out some of the sugar (at least 1/8 - 1/4 cup). If it's in a cake, you're probably okay with coconut juice, but it's a bit of an experiment and you might want to increase the butter/fat to keep the cake's crumb at least somewhat in line with the original recipe.

If the coconut milk is being used as a fat base for frosting, ice cream, yogurt, custard, or the like, you shouldn't use coconut juice as a substitute.
 
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