Plant-Based Milk: Do You Like Pina Coladas?
Welcome to the second blog in this series looking at different plant-based or lactose-free milk alternatives from a taste, nutritional content and FODMAP perspective.
In part one we looked at pea milk, a relative new-comer to the market. In this blog we will investigate one of the more well known substitutes to dairy based milk, coconut milk. I also did a fun taste test of all the different milks with my FoodMarble colleagues — check out the video at the end to see how they got on!
More than just a way enhance your curry
Coconut milk can sometimes cause slight confusion, as there is also tinned coconut milk used in cooking. Tinned coconut milk is a thick cream, unlike what we naturally think of as a milk for drinking with coffee/cereals. This cream is made by grinding the white flesh of the coconut and soaking it in water and straining.
Looking at the carton of coconut milk, 40% of its content is this thick cream. It also has water, and coconut juice (also known as coconut water). After this it is made up of the usual additives: acidity regulator, calcium carbonate, sea salt, pectin and xanthan gum. The packaging has no strong nutritional claims, aside from no added sugar. So, let’s compare some nutritional information.
Nutritionally it is a low fat, low sugar alternative, however, without the added calcium it can’t live up to its dairy based counterpart’s level. The carton does not advertise its calcium level, however a quick Google search shows that the tinned coconut milk only has 38mg of calcium per 240ml, and this is a diluted version of that. Coconut milk also contains no protein so this might affect some people’s decision to drink coconut milk.
In the taste test, the coconut milk turned out to be less noticeable than I thought it would be. Going in, I assumed it would be easily identified by its distinct flavor. However only one group guessed it by flavor; another group guessed it by the bits of coconut pulp they saw in the coffee and the last group couldn’t guess this one. This milk is low FODMAP up to 180ml, so IBS sufferers should exercise portion control.
The FoodMarble Taste Test!
For a bit of fun, I challenged some of the FoodMarble team to a blind taste test, to see how many they could identify. Considering the team, I figured that the best way to get them to try a variety of mystery milks was to mix it with coffee! Indeed, the idea of drinking seven cups of coffee had a lot of my colleagues excited. Each group of two had seven cups of half milk, half coffee placed in front of them and after trying all seven, they guessed each one. They got a point for each correct answer. The milks they tasted were:
Stay tuned for the rest in the series!
Let’s see how they got on!
Just to recap…What are plant-based milks?
Plant milks have been used for centuries, with almond milk and coconut milk used in cooking as early as the 13th century. In fact, a drink made from ground and sweetened tiger nuts called Horchata can be dated back to 1200 AD in northern Africa. These nuts originate from Spain. In modern times Horchata is more widely known as a Mexican rice-based drink, so some simple deduction leads us to the conclusion that the colonists from Spain who arrived in Mexico couldn’t find tiger nuts to make their drink and looked to rice as an alternative. They also added cinnamon to the mix and to this day it remains an incredibly popular drink in Mexico.
Plant milks are made by simply watering down a heated slurry, made by grinding the plant. However modern manufacturers try and re-create the texture and mouthfeel of dairy milk by adding some other ingredients. Depending on the situation some will also be sweetened to give a more pleasant taste.
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