Among the many desserts known in cooking, coconut paste is not the last place. Made from natural ingredients, tender and very tasty, it can be a great addition to your daily diet.
Product Description
Coconut paste is a product that many food corporations around the world produce. It is a creamy substance with a pleasant, slightly sweet taste. And this, despite the fact that sugar is not part of it. Coconut paste is usually made from the pulp of natural fruits.
It is sometimes also called oil or spread. This is because pasta made from coconuts is usually very oily. During storage, when the ambient temperature rises, it can even exfoliate into pulp and oil. Moreover, the first layer is lowered, and the second is at the top. Therefore, before use, such a product must first be mixed. This is best done after heating, for example, in a water bath. The product from natural nut pulp can be used in different ways:
- For the preparation of sandwiches, it is similar to the well-known and popular peanut butter in the West.
- As a flavoring dressing for fruit salads.
- For the manufacture of various desserts (cakes or ice cream).
The peculiarity is that the finished product is subjected to minimal cooking.
The nutritional value
Coconut paste is not only very tasty, but also a rather healthy product. It contains:
- A large number of valuable amino acids (caproic, palmitic, stearic and others). Among them, lauric acid is the main value . In addition to walnuts, it is also found in breast milk. The uniqueness of this acid lies in the fact that it protects the human body from the harmful effects of all kinds of viruses and infections.
- Minerals (iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and potassium).
- Vitamins (C, B1, B2 and E).
- Monosugar (glucose and fructose).
- Vegetable fats and protein.
Doctors recommend using such a product in case of loss of strength, chronic fatigue and seasonal vitamin deficiency. It is recommended for people suffering from serious nervous disorders, as well as those who are trying to get out of severe depression. Research scientists have shown that coconut milk contained in the paste, has a beneficial effect on brain activity. In addition, it is able to cleanse the body and help a person cope with some urological diseases. The natural fats contained in the paste normalize the functioning of many organs and systems.
Hawaiian Pasta
Understanding the uniqueness of this product, any housewife, of course, will want to know how to prepare coconut paste? The recipe will depend on what ingredients are available. The easiest option is Hawaiian pasta. For it, as the initial components will be required: for 250 grams of cream cheese, one third of a glass of coconut flakes and two tablespoons of pineapple jam.
The preparation of such a dessert will take less than a quarter of an hour:
- Put all the ingredients in a deep dish (pan or bowl).
- Beat them with a whisk or a regular fork until smooth. If desired, you can use a blender.
- Send the resulting mixture to the refrigerator for an hour and a half, after covering the dishes with a lid or plastic wrap.
Such pasta will make perfect sandwiches. And as a basis, it is better to use white bread with a crisp and porous pulp. For this, Italian, ciabatta, is perfect.
Ancient recipes
In Dagestan, a national dish called urbec is very popular. This is a paste that is obtained by grinding nuts or various seeds. In ancient times, it was prepared by grinding using stone millstones. Nowadays, with modern technology, everything is much easier. Using this technology, you get excellent coconut paste. The recipe at home is very easy to repeat. This will require only coconut fruit. Next, proceed as follows:
- Open the nuts and carefully remove all the flesh from them.
- For the preparation of pasta, special mills are usually used. At home, they can be replaced with a food processor. Raw materials must be loaded into a container and ground to a pasty state.
A feature of this process is the need to choose the correct rotation speed of the crushing device. It is necessary that the cake, which is formed during grinding, immediately mixed with oil separated at this time. The result should be a viscous and fairly dense mass.
Consumer Opinions
Recently, on the shelves of food stores quite often began to meet natural coconut paste. Customer reviews of this product are mostly positive. Previously, these were exclusively foreign-made goods, but recently domestic products have appeared on the shelves. The brands Thanks and Nutbutter can be attributed to it. Among the positive qualities, users note the exclusively natural composition of the product. Indeed, both pastes are made only from coconut pulp without the addition of any preservatives or other chemicals.
Customers like the delicate creamy texture and pleasant taste. True, some are worried about the high calorie content of such a product. For the daily norm, only two tablespoons are enough. Larger amounts can only do harm. This is especially true for people prone to obesity. In addition, there is another reason why some consumers are forced to refrain from buying. This is a rather high price for the product. However, if we take into account its minimum daily consumption rate, the amount will not seem so big.
Sweet Tooth Recipe
Coconut paste at home can be cooked as a sweet dessert. To do this, you need the following set of products: for 60 grams of coconut flakes, the same amount of powdered sugar and 10 grams of any vegetable oil.
Preparation boils down to thoroughly mixing the ingredients. To do this, you may need a blender or coffee grinder. The whole process consists of two stages:
- Products must be mixed first.
- Then they need to be transferred to the bowl.
- Beat with a lid until the mass becomes as homogeneous as possible.
This usually takes about 10-15 minutes. Everything will depend on the number of source components taken. The result is a soft creamy mass, which can then be used for its intended purpose:
- for making fruit smoothies, pastries and milkshakes;
- spread on bread;
- use with a spoon in its natural form.
In some national cuisines, such pasta is sometimes used in a way that is not quite familiar to us. For example, in Thailand, it is poured over chicken during frying or added to soup. For Russians, this is a real exotic, and local residents have long been accustomed to this taste.