Pina Colada Recipe w/o Cream of Coconut?

[amcleod]

I am looking for a recipe for Pina Coladas...but without Cream of Coconut. Does anyone have a recommendation? I've seen a few using coconut milk (not cream of coconut) and that seems kind of weird to me...but if anyone has made pina coladas with them and they were good, that could be the ticket.

Thanks in advance!

[sneezles]

We tried these last summer and they weren't too bad but then we added the rum! I like them made with ice cream and coconut extract, too.

Piña Colada

Ingredients
1 carton Piña Colada-flavored yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 cup low-fat (1%) milk
5 ice cubes

Directions
In a blender, add the yogurt, juice, milk, and ice cubes and blend until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

This recipe yields 4 servings. Serving size: 1/2 cup.

Exchanges Per Serving: 1 Carbohydrate.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 88; Calories from Fat 8; Total Fat 1g;
Saturated Fat 1g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 47mg; Carbohydrate 17g;
Dietary Fiber 0g; Sugars 15g; Protein 3g.

Comments: Piña Coladas are reminders of hot, lazy days, but you can enjoythis nonalcoholic, nutritious version any time of the year! If you miss the rum taste, add 1/2 teaspoon of rum extract when you are blending.

[Beth]

Ann, what's the goal? Are you trying to cut down on the sugar, the fat or what?

Cream of coconut, if I recall correctly is basically coconut milk cooked with sugar -- like the Eagle brand of the tropics. Coconut milk will give you the coconut without the added sugar so that you can add the sweet in another way or to taste. Light coconut milk is just less strong, so you may have to use more to get the same taste and not come out ahead in overall fat and calories.

Without using coconut milk, you'll probably have to use artificial flavoring of some sort -- extract, the yogurt above, something. There is a coconut flavored rum (Captain Morgan is the one I saw), but I don't know that you'd get enough coconut flavor to make the drink taste right.

[Vanessa]

Hi:
Yummy piña coladas thought you might enjoy a bit of background history / recipe
The drink was created at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 15, 1954 by its creator Ramon “Monchito” Marrero.
Translated, Piña Colada means “strained pineapple” and Monchito stressed that the pineapple should be fresh from the field that morning because only Puerto Rican farmers know the secret to “slicing out the best juice.” His world-famous drink was designed to incorporate the warmth and flavors of Puerto Rico in a smooth and creamy concoction.
Coco López, the maker of the coconut cream most often used in the drink, marked the selling of the three millionth Piña Colada in 1978 by presenting a color television set to Monchito. On the same day, he was honored with a party and awarded a medal by the Caribe Hilton, while the government of Puerto Rico declared the Piña Colada the “national drink of Puerto Rico.” Monchito was invited to Holland to be named an honorary member of the Netherlands Bartenders Club in 1986. A plaque commemorating his achievement is displayed at the tourist information center in San Juan.

Monchito Marrero died but his drink lives on It is estimated that more than 200 million Piña Coladas have been served since 1954 when Monchito officially mixed the first one in what was then the Caribe Hilton's Beachcombers Bar.

You can enjoy the same drink Monchito created and personally served to Caribe Hilton guests,. The original Piña Colada recipe is:

2 ounces light rum

1 ounce coconut cream

1 ounce heavy cream

6 ounces fresh pineapple juice

1/2 cup crushed ice

Pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry for garnish

Pour rum, coconut cream, cream, and pineapple juice in blender. Add ice. Blend for 15 seconds. Pour into a 12-ounce glass. Add garnishes.

For those who prefer a tasty non-alcoholic Virgin Colada, just leave out the rum.
I just use rum, pineapple juice and Coco Lopez )coconut cream= / ice.
You can )making it lighter= use coconut milk )light= and they do in the Dominican REpublic also you can add some pieces of fresh pineapple in the blender and a few tablespoons vanilla ice cream. The objective is to create a thick drink which when served in a hot day you can sip it as it ¨melts¨very refreshing...

[amcleod]

Beth, yup, it is to cut out the fat....cream of coconut is just so fat and calorie laden. I do wonder if using just coconut milk will give the creamy consistency. Although I was going to make banana coladas, so maybe the addition of the bananas will compensate.

Sneezles, thanks for that recipe! I may just use it instead of what I found, which is

3 oz rum
3 tablespoons coconut milk
3 tablespoons pineapple juice

Vanessa, I found that authentic recipe too! I just would feel too guilty serving it up! But hey, I am not drinking them so maybe I shouldn't force my fear of the coco lopez on others.

Tomorrow I will decide. Thanks for your help!

[Beth]

Coconut milk, even light, is not lowfat any way you slice it. I was shocked when I saw the nutritional information for the various coconut products I used to make the coconut tiramisu more reasonable. Didn't take a lot to understand how cream of coconut, mascarpone, cream and eggs added up to 1200 calories a serving. And that's supposed to be after the meal! Ouch!

[lindrusso]

Yes, switching to regular coconut milk will not help the fat problem.

I just looked it up and 1 T of coconut milk has 3.2g of fat, 2.9 of it saturated. According to my can of Coco Casa Cream of Coconut, 3T of that has 3g of fat, 3 of it saturated. I used to think that it also had added trans fat, but the ingredients list only hydrogenated soy bean oil, which I have read is not the same as trans fat (only if it's partially hydrogenated).

We were discussing how to replace cream of coconut on an ice cream thread and someone suggested using fat free condensed milk (very similiar in texture to cream of coconut) and a bit of coconut extract. I think this would work very well and would be worth a try.

Let us know what you try and how it comes out. I would also love to find a lighter way to make Pina Coladas.

Alysha

[amcleod]

No way?! Coconut milk and cream of coconut have the same amount of fat?! YIKES. But what about calories? Well, I guess I will check it out at the grocery store. I may end up buying that icky powdered or pre-made stuff.

Actually, I will probably use sneezles' recipe! I did also find a CL recipe called "Pina Colada Slush" that uses frozen yogurt. I will make a decision on the fly and let you know how it turns out...they're for a staff happy hour tomorrow.

[lindrusso]

FYI - My can of lite coconut milk says 4g of fat per 2T. So let's see that means we have:

coconut milk - 3.2g fat per T
light coconut milk - 2g fat per T
cream of coconut - 1g fat per T

Looks like cream of coconut wins over the two other coconut options.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by amcleod
But what about calories?

As for calories:

coconut milk: 1T=30 calories
lite coconut milk: 1T=23 calories
cream of coconut: 1T=56 calories

So, cream of coconut is much more caloric, probably because sugar is the #1 ingredient.

[amcleod]

Lindrusso, you are a godsend. Thanks so much for all this info. I have to weigh the options fat or calories or a "non-authentic" recipe?