More Comfortable With The Old.
By Kandase
@Kandae11 (53782)
November 6, 2023 8:23am CST
My grandmother and mother used what is called a grater to grate dry coconut in order to extract the milk.
In 2023 graters are still around, but a bit more refined looking. However, most housewives and chefs find using the grater to grate coconuts too time consuming.
So they opt for chopping the coconut into pieces and tossing it in a blender, or the milk can be bought in packets (powder) or in cans (liquid).
I keep a few packets around for convenience but l prefer preparing my coconut the old way -- manually with a grater. I use my blender for other things. The fact that we have over a dozen coconut trees on our property helps.
Do you have any old habits or items that you find hard to let go of?
Picture shows the kind of grater you will find in the stores. It can be used for grating lots of other things too.
23 people like this
20 responses
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
6 Nov
I used to bake with coconut milk (canned) and flaked (bagged) but haven't in years... Pretty won't eat it and I only cook for the two of us now.
I still have a grater sort of like that one for cheeses... Mine is just a single sheet of metal, though.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
6 Nov
@Kandae11 A block of cheese or potatoes are really all we grate and we don't do those often.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (460461)
• Switzerland
6 Nov
We do not have coconut trees here and fresh coconut is not imported, so I buy it canned, or dried if I need it flaked.
My old habit is to grind my coffee in the morning using an old manual grinder. This does not "heat" the beans and the coffee keeps its aroma.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (171267)
• United States
6 Nov
I have graters here...I sometimes might use them for cheese or carrots or something of the like. I have never grated coconut.
2 people like this
@allknowing (130292)
• India
7 Nov
@Kandae11 Yes. They sit on that wooden plank and scrape away (lol)
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (86976)
• United States
6 Nov
Yes though I can make my Mother's curry recipe in the Instant Pot, I prefer to make it on the stove the old way.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (86976)
• United States
6 Nov
@Kandae11 Oh yes, there is such a lovely taste to it.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (80185)
• United States
6 Nov
I still use a grater just like that. I mostly use it for grating cheese and would rather grate my own than buy it already grated.
It must be beautiful there having all those coconut trees on your property.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (80185)
• United States
6 Nov
@Kandae11 the only time I"ve seen people open coconuts is on the tv show Survivor. Breaking into a coconut seems like a hard job.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (80185)
• United States
7 Nov
@Kandae11 that doesn't sound that hard. Maybe the people on Survivor are weaklings 
1 person likes this
@much2say (53941)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Nov
This reminds me of my ex-boss' mother's cooking. She would cook Persian food for us every single day . . . I heard how painstakingly she micro chopped up the vegetables and herbs with a knife and never used the microwave for anything. When I went to another company, the wife's boss there also cooked Persian food (only sometimes). I told her I knew how hard it was prep for these dishes - and she looked at me weird. She said that's what a food processor was for 
. Honestly, her food did not taste as good as my ex-boss' mother's 
.
. Honestly, her food did not taste as good as my ex-boss' mother's .1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (74146)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Nov
THere is a lot to be said for a grater, I have a sturdy one I use all the time, I bought a manual fangled gadget that is supposed to grate and slice and dice, I tried it one and the moment a pushed harder it fell apart, I put it together again and after the third time it is sitting in its box,
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (40650)
• United States
6 Nov
I had one like that for years! Wow, six coconut trees...that sounds wonderful.
I quit using that grater when I grated skin, lol.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15804)
• Raurkela, India
7 Nov
I use this to grate vegetables and cheese. I don't grate coconut these days as I have to sit on the floor which I find difficult. I get some dessicated coconut but I do get fresh coconut for coconut milk.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15804)
• Raurkela, India
8 Nov
@Kandae11 I too grate coconut when I have the time.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (49288)
• United States
6 Nov
I still use a grater like the one above.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (29528)
•
12 Nov
I have a very similar grater with the four sides, but mine is older, I think. I have a meat grinder that belonged to one of my grandmothers and I have quite the selection of older kitchen tools that I still use to this day. They were made to last forever.
