Coconut milk itself doesn't inherently produce heat or cold in the body; consuming it doesn't affect your body temperature. However, coconut milk is frequently heated as an ingredient in various recipes.
Heating Coconut Milk in Cooking
Many recipes call for heating coconut milk. Examples include:
- Coconut Golden Milk: Recipes often involve warming coconut milk gently in a saucepan until steaming (https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/coconut_golden_milk/).
- Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate: This beverage is made by heating coconut milk as a base (https://shewearsmanyhats.com/coconut-milk-hot-chocolate-recipe/, https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/toasted-coconut-hot-chocolate/).
- Thai Curries: While not always required, heating is common to prevent separation and blend the coconut milk effectively into the curry (https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/19456/how-do-i-prevent-coconut-milk-from-separating-in-thai-curry).
- Steamer Drinks: Coconut milk can be boiled for this purpose; it thickens as water evaporates (https://www.livestrong.com/article/547331-can-you-boil-coconut-milk-as-a-steamer-drink/).
Some sources even suggest warming canned coconut milk before opening to improve texture and prevent separation (https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/cimg9u/am_i_completely_incompetent_or_is_shake_canned/). Other uses involve the application of heat for processing, as seen in heat protectant sprays (https://lusetabeauty.com/products/luseta-coconut-milk-heat-protectant-spray).
The key takeaway is that while coconut milk doesn't generate internal body heat, it's often heated during food preparation.
Note: Eating coconut doesn't alter body temperature (https://www.quora.com/Is-coconut-milk-warming-or-cooling).
