# Coconut cream - even more heart-clogging than coconut milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853 "2001-02-17T05:42:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/1 "2001-02-17T05:42:09Z")
I was shopping tonight for a curry I’m making, and the recipe calls for coconut milk. The first store I went to only had coconut cream, which it touted for pina coladas. I wasn’t sure if that was the same thing as coconut milk, so I went to another store to get coconut milk. (The things I do for my cooking - it was -32 out, and I didn’t really want to do a lengthy detour, but I did.) So does anyone know - are coconut milk and coconut cream the same thing, or is there a difference? Could I have saved that second trip in the cold? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/2 "2001-02-17T07:24:29Z")
coconut water: the raw liquid in a coconut coconut milk: coconut water cooked and condensed coconut cream: the solids that float to the top of the coconut milk, richest in saturated fats. Very yummy, and about as healthy as eating lard. ---
**Author:** ![st1d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@st1d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/st1d)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/3 "2001-02-17T07:28:28Z")
Personally, I take offense at the suggestion that eating lard is bad for you… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/4 "2001-02-17T16:46:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*coconut water: the raw liquid in a coconut > coconut milk: coconut water cooked and condensed > coconut cream: the solids that float to the top of the coconut milk, richest in saturated fats. Very yummy, and about as healthy as eating lard. \*\* No, this is incorrect; coconut milk and cream are not made from coconut water. From the [Ayam Coconut Milk](http://www.ayam.net.au/products/cocofr.htm) product description website: > [@](#): > > _What is the difference between milk and cream?_ > > **Coconut milk or cream are not the watery juice contained in the nut. To obtain the milk or cream, the nut is peeled, its flesh cut into pieces before being crushed: the extract subsequently squeezed out is boiled to get rid of moister, then homogenized, filtered, canned and sterilized. For cream, the boiling process is increased, hence a more concentrated product.** or, from [Cuisine Net](http://www.cuisinenet.com/digest/ingred/coconut_milk.shtml) website: > [@](#): > > **No, believe it or not, coconut milk – an indispensable ingredient in most Southeast Asian cooking – is not the liquid inside a coconut. It is made by soaking the grated flesh of a coconut in hot water or scalded milk, then straining the combination. Coconut milk is classified as thick, thin, or coconut cream. Thick coconut milk is the result of the first soaking and squeezing. If this milk is refrigerated it separates, and the top layer is the cream. Thin coconut milk is what is produced when one steeps the coconut meat a second time and then strains. Canned coconut milk, which is mostly quite good, separates naturally. The top layer can be spooned off for recipes calling for cream, the bottom poured into thin, or just shake it up to get the most commonly called-for thick coconut milk.** ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/5 "2001-02-17T17:55:02Z")
that’ll teach me to answer off the top of my head ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coconut-cream-even-more-heart-clogging-than-coconut-milk/54853/6 "2001-02-18T17:44:40Z")
i found it odd that the curry had cashews, and the recipe went on about how the fat in cashews is mainly monosaturated, better for you, etc. - then you dump in 15 oz. of coconut milk! now that I’ve eaten, I’m going to the gym. (Thanks for the info, everyone.)