Cocktails with Cream of coconut
Cream of coconut is a thick, heavily sweetened coconut product made by blending high-fat coconut cream with sugar into a pourable syrup.
Substitutes for Cream of coconut
Fat and sugar in one tin. The sugar is easy to add back, the fat is not — and the fat is what a blended drink stands on.
Often confused with
Coconut cream
Thick pressed cream without the sugar, sold for cooking. Use it where the recipe wants coconut body and is bringing its own sweetener. Using it in a Piña Colada without adding sugar makes a savory drink.
Coconut milk
Unsweetened and far thinner, with a fraction of the fat. It lengthens a Piña Colada instead of building it, so the sugar and the body both have to come from somewhere else.
Storage
Sealed at room temperature until opened, then refrigerated and used within a week. It solidifies when cold and softens back at room temperature. Decant the tin, since the metal taints what is left in it.
