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Neutralizing Lauric Acid in Coconut Cream

 
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EngineeringProfessor



Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 12:33 am    Post subject: Neutralizing Lauric Acid in Coconut Cream Reply with quote

I probably should have posted this in "Cooking for Chemists", but i r n engineer.

I like a Pina Colada now and then and have found that the coconut cream that goes into them can sometimes impart a "soapy" taste. After making a drink last night with "Coco Real" super-preserved coconut cream, I had to throw it out because of the strong soapy taste. I figured that the bottle had gone bad, but I thought it strange that it would do so. Anyway, some web research revealed that a component of coconut oil is Lauric Acid, which has a soapy taste.

I then started a quest to see if I might be able to neutralize this and so preserve the bottle and at the same time save myself from future unpleasantness. An eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda did the trick, but next time I am going to try adding a banana to the cocktail instead. This should neutralize the acid and help tip the beverage towards the healthy side--if such a thing can happen with a rum-based drink.
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's really interesting... I'll have to see if I can detect that soapy taste you describe
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SirSpice



Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Posts: 95

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've had that taste in Goya coconut milk, made the drink taste terrible. For drinking my favorite was the one that cost more, it was something with Asia or Thailand in the name, and the can looked real nice.
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GaryProtein



Joined: 26 Oct 2005
Posts: 535

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:14 am    Post subject: Re: Neutralizing Lauric Acid in Coconut Cream Reply with quote

EngineeringProfessor wrote:
I probably should have posted this in "Cooking for Chemists", but i r n engineer.

I like a Pina Colada now and then and have found that the coconut cream that goes into them can sometimes impart a "soapy" taste. After making a drink last night with "Coco Real" super-preserved coconut cream, I had to throw it out because of the strong soapy taste. I figured that the bottle had gone bad, but I thought it strange that it would do so. Anyway, some web research revealed that a component of coconut oil is Lauric Acid, which has a soapy taste.

I then started a quest to see if I might be able to neutralize this and so preserve the bottle and at the same time save myself from future unpleasantness. An eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda did the trick, but next time I am going to try adding a banana to the cocktail instead. This should neutralize the acid and help tip the beverage towards the healthy side--if such a thing can happen with a rum-based drink.


Sometimes I masquerade as a lazy bartender, and while I don't have an answer for the soapy taste of coconut milk, I can say that when it comes to Pina Coladas, I really like the Friday's Pina Colada mix that already comes with rum in it. All I do is take ice, the mix and add some additional Myers dark rum for an extra kick, pour it all into the Vita-Mix and, presto! a perfect frozen pina colada. You can garnish with a small chunk or shreds of coconut and/or slice of pineapple. I like to think that a little rum makes everything healthy!
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EngineeringProfessor



Joined: 07 Sep 2006
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2007 2:23 am    Post subject: Some have higher sensitivity than others... Reply with quote

Michael Chu wrote:
That's really interesting... I'll have to see if I can detect that soapy taste you describe


Way back in undergrad electronics lab (circa 1973) I could smell a burning part long before any of the other guys.

A few weeks ago I went to a dinner and one of the other faculty member's wives had such foul breath that I literally could not stand it. Even across the table from her I would get a whiff and it almost made me gag. She was on Atkins and it was that awful garlicky smell that is evidence of ketosis. Later that evening on the way home I asked my wife what she thought of _____'s breath. She didn't understand and told me that she hadn't noticed a foul odor or bad breath at all. I am now convinced that I have some sort of hypersensitivity in taste and smell (they are related as you no doubt know). I think it is more of a curse than a blessing, but it has come in handy when wiring prototypes in the lab ;-)
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raw math girl
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 5:39 am    Post subject: Re: Neutralizing Lauric Acid in Coconut Cream Reply with quote

EngineeringProfessor wrote:
I probably should have posted this in "Cooking for Chemists", but i r n engineer. An eighth of a teaspoon of baking soda did the trick, but next time I am going to try adding a banana to the cocktail instead. This should neutralize the acid and help tip the beverage towards the healthy side--if such a thing can happen with a rum-based drink.


thankyou thankyou thankyou - this has been so difficult to track down!
(i'm a mathematician not an engineer hope i'm still allowed) i can taste the soapiness - didn't have it the first time i made a 'raw' chocolate pie BUT that had banana in it - the second time (no banana) strange taste, and thought the oil must have gone rancid, but everything on the net says cocnut oil is stable to 177 degrees or something stupidly high like that so thought i was mad...will try the bicarb instead...don't want the banana flavour in it...

(of course rum is healthy, what an absurd notion ha ha)
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classicbakes04



Joined: 24 Jul 2021
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey,
You can also try Trinidad Coconut Bake recipe

Ingredients needed
1 kg all purpose flour
475g cold water
15g brown sugar
10g bread margarine
5g cake margarine
10g dry active yeast
10g liquid full cream milk
14g salt
125g grated coconut
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