Coconut Milk—chemistry and preservation methods

Milk prepared from the meat of a fully grown coconut is whitish and milky. It is utilized all over the world in various food products. The milk prepared from coconut has good nutritional quality, and its rich flavor is attributed to its high fat content, which can also be the main cause for spoilage of the milk. Techniques like freezing, spray drying, pasteurization, fermentation, blanching, sterilization, UHT treatment, and canning might be used to prolong the shelf life of coconut milk. This chapter provides insight into the preparation of coconut milk, its physicochemical compositions, and techniques to effectively preserve this milk.