The Clever Trick To Get 2 Ingredients From 1 Can Of Coconut Cream

If you have ever opened a can of coconut water and were confused by the cream that has risen to the top, don't throw it out just yet. That thick, creamy substance is likely coconut cream and can be used in a variety of delicious ways. Coconut cream usually has the same ingredients as coconut milk: coconut and water.

The main difference between coconut cream and coconut water is that coconut cream has less water than coconut milk, resulting in a higher fat content and thicker texture than coconut water. Similarly to most coconut-flavored ingredients, coconut cream adds a bright, sweet coconut flavor to dishes. These characteristics make coconut cream a powerhouse of an ingredient, highlighting how it can do more than put the filth in a dirty soda.

Coconut cream can be split into two ingredients with a simple, yet clever, trick: adding heat. When heated in a pan, coconut oil separates from the coconut cream. Over time, the remaining cream becomes a golden brown similar to bacon bits. These curds are known as latik, a popular Filipino topping for desserts. Like coconut cream, coconut oil and latik are versatile and flavorful additions to many dishes.

Food influencer @Jeanelleats brought this coconut cream trick to fame in a YouTube Short that gained over 300,000 likes. In the video, she pours a can of coconut cream in a pan and stirs as it heats up. When the curds are a golden brown, she separates the latik out. The coconut oil that also yields from this process can fill various needs in the kitchen, even serving as a substitute for butter for an extra-crispy grilled cheese.

The latik is just as versatile, especially when paired with ube, the sweet purple tuber perfect for desserts. Ube sticky rice cakes and ube halaya (purple yam jam), for example, allow the sweetness of latik to shine alongside the nutty and vanilla accents of ube. Latik also shines on maja blanca (coconut milk corn pudding), a light pudding made from coconut milk. Latik may not have been on your radar before this popular coconut cream trick, but now that you know how to make it, you have access to a world of flavor.