For a dessert, sauce or breakfast prepared for Christmas Eve, choose culinary coconut milk with an organic certification that you can identify on the specific product you buy. Then check the coconut content, ingredients list and quantity you need. A coconut-based plant drink, designed to be consumed as a drink, is not automatically a substitute for culinary coconut milk in a recipe.
For a dessert, sauce or porridge, the proportion of coconut extract is a useful point of comparison. Product information from Carrefour France and Auchan France lists 76% for Carrefour Bio, 68% for Jardin Bio Étic and 64% for Kara, respectively. These figures alone aren’t enough to predict the texture of your recipe.
If you’re looking for a recognisable certification and want to avoid a thickener, check these two things separately. The Kara product listing on Auchan France states that it contains organic coconut extract and water. The Carrefour Bio, Jardin Bio Étic, Racines Bio and Bjorg listings also mention guar gum.
For a recipe, distinguish culinary coconut milk from a drink intended for a glass or bowl. The Alpro coconut drink described by Auchan France is a useful example of this difference in use, but the product listing we consulted doesn’t show organic certification. Don’t count it as an organic option on that basis alone.
For a Christmas Eve recipe, first check the organic certification of the specific product, then its ingredients and whether the quantity is right for your recipe.
| Criteria | What to check | Who is it for? |
|---|---|---|
| Certification and ingredients | Look for the EU organic logo or AB mark on the specific product, then read the ingredients list if you want to avoid a thickener. | If I want an organic product without relying on the word “natural” alone, I need to be able to identify its certification and understand its ingredients. Around 42% of consumers would make this a priority. |
| Culinary use and texture | Compare the product description, stated coconut content and nutritional information on the same basis, for example per 100 ml. | For my Christmas Eve dessert, I need coconut milk intended for cooking rather than a drink to serve in a glass. The texture they’re looking for would be a priority for around 33% of consumers. |
| Pack size and leftovers | Check the quantity and the storage instructions after opening for the specific product you choose. | For a single breakfast recipe, I’d prefer a quantity I can use within the stated time after opening. Around 25% of consumers would make pack size and leftovers their top priority. |
The Carrefour Bio, Jardin Bio Étic, Racines Bio and Bjorg product listings mention guar gum. The Kara listing on Auchan France, on the other hand, states that it contains organic coconut extract and water.
If you want to avoid a stated thickener, check the ingredients for the exact product rather than relying on the organic label alone.
According to Auchan France, the Alpro coconut drink we consulted contains 14.1% coconut milk, while the organic culinary coconut milks from Carrefour Bio, Kara and Racines Bio have different proportions of coconut extract, ranging from 44% to 76%. Their product descriptions and ingredients don’t guarantee the same result in a recipe.
For a dessert or sauce, check that the product is intended for cooking. For a drink to serve as it is, check its certification separately if organic is essential.
Storage instructions vary by product: Auchan France recommends keeping Kara in the fridge for three days after opening, and Jardin Bio Étic and Bjorg for four days.
Choose a quantity that suits the number of portions you’re planning and follow the instructions on the product you buy.
Any contents not used within the stated time may need to be thrown away.
The organic logo identifies a product made from organically farmed ingredients; on its own, it doesn’t tell you whether the product is part of a fair trade scheme. The Jardin Bio Étic listing on Auchan France mentions Fair For Life separately.
If this matters to you, look for a separate statement or label on the product you’re considering.
A 400 ml tin of culinary coconut milk to consider for recipes requiring several portions.
A 40 cl carton of culinary coconut milk for sweet or savoury recipes.
A 20 cl carton of organic culinary coconut milk to consider for a smaller recipe.
A 40 cl carton of culinary coconut milk with a stated coconut content that differs from the other products featured here.
A 20 cl pack of smooth organic cooking ingredient for a sweet or savoury recipe.
Check for a certification logo on the product you’re considering. The French Ministry of Agriculture states that the EU organic logo identifies products from organic farming and may be accompanied by the AB mark. The words “natural” or “plant-based” alone don’t serve the same purpose.
Not automatically: check the product description and ingredients required by your recipe. Auchan France lists 14.1% coconut milk in the Alpro drink we consulted, compared with 64% coconut extract in Kara culinary coconut milk. The Alpro drink listing we consulted doesn’t show organic certification.
Follow the storage instructions and use-by period stated on the product you buy. Product listings on Auchan France recommend using Kara within three days of opening, and Jardin Bio Étic and Bjorg within four days. These time limits don’t apply to every coconut milk.
No. Check the product you’re interested in for a separate fair trade statement. The Jardin Bio Étic listing on Auchan France mentions Fair For Life and states that 99.2% of its agricultural ingredients come from fair trade. This information doesn’t apply to other organic products.