Stories From Kiribati

Coconut cream is a milky liquid obtained from compressing (squeezing and twisting) grated meat of a mature coconut. Instantly on its own, it is pure, concentrated, thicker than normal liquid and milky in color. It is among very useful ingredients commonly used in cooking foods. It can also be turned into other utile products mainly oil for body and hair, cooking and lubrication.

Kiribati people often cook and/or add this cream to their local foods. It’s primarily because they have plenty of coconuts growing around them on their islands. Here’s how they extract this special cream from the coconut:

Things needed:

- a coconut that has already been husked
- knife (for cracking the coconut in halves)
- small basin or bowl (for collecting cream)
- grater (for grating coconut)
- rectangular piece of cloth (for compressing and twisting grated coconut with)

What to do? Six simple steps:

1) crack (open) the coconut into halves with the help of the knife (see this article)
2) sit comfortably behind the grater and start grating the coconut – each piece at the time
3) lay (stretch) the piece of cloth on a flat surface
4) put all the grated coconut onto the cloth
4) carefully fold and roll the cloth enclosing the coconut inside
5) start compressing, squeezing and twisting the rolled cloth so the cream goes out
6) collect the cream into your basin

That’s all. What you have inside the basin is pure and fresh coconut cream! You can start using it - cook your food with or the turn it into other useful products.