Coconut Cream

Coconut cream is the richest, highest-fat product pressed from grated coconut pulp, made by squeezing the first pressing directly through cheesecloth with little or no water added, which leaves it with roughly twenty to fifty percent fat compared with the five to twenty percent typical of thinner coconut milk. Because of its high fat content and thick, dense texture, it is used in desserts and in rich, dry sauces and curries where a lighter coconut milk would not hold together as well. It should not be confused with the heavily sweetened, processed product called cream of coconut, which is used mainly in cocktails such as the pina colada.