Coconut milk and coconut cream: what's the difference?

What is the difference between coconut milk and coconut cream? L. Anderson

Long before people tried to cross the sea in search of new lands, the humble coconut beat them to it. This liquid-and-flesh-filled seed of the coconut palm floats on seawater and can travel hundreds of kilometres, pushed by wind and currents. Once it hits a sandy cove, there are enough nutrients inside the nut to keep the palm growing for more than a year. To make milk, the white flesh inside the nut is pulped with additional water creating a liquid with about 15 per cent fat. When left to settle, the fat rises to the top of the milk. This is the cream. In his book Thai Food, expat chef David Thompson says tinned coconut milk and cream are ''bastardised'' and suggests making one's own by taking just the white of the coconut flesh and blending it in a food processor with water to make a smooth, thin paste then straining this through muslin to make milk. Let this settle for 20 minutes then skim off the cream.

He suggests using the cream, which needs to be further reduced, to fry curry pastes and adding the milk to the curry later.

TV chefs invariably crack eggs straight into their concoctions. Is this right? A. Morris

It is a little-known fact that TV chefs do not actually crack eggs themselves but instead have highly trained stunt doubles to do difficult tasks such as cracking eggs, flipping pancakes and performing humility for them. These shots are edited in post-production along with sizzle sound effects and canned laughter. Seriously, as there is always a risk of getting shell in a batter or having the very occasional off egg, most cookbooks will recommend cracking each egg into a cup before adding to others, although I have rarely seen a chef practise this.

Can I use the flowers from thyme and marjoram in my stews? F. Abrahami

Yes. The flowers of edible garden herbs can be used to flavour dishes. They are more delicate than the leaves so will disintegrate into the cooking. Some herbs, such as sage, have quite robust flowers and decent-sized seeds that create textural problems so, either way, consider tying them into a bouquet garni that can be removed from the pot as one. Remember, when it comes to decorating a dish with edible flowers, there is a fine line between artistic and twee. Some decorative flowers, such as oleander, are poisonous.

A recipe for Italian panforte calls for citron. What is it and where can I buy it? M. Davison

It's a fragrant citrus fruit (Citrus medica) with quite thick but very aromatic peel. It's rarely around at this time of year and is quite difficult to find. You can substitute Buddha's hand, a type of citron with elongated protrusions, which is a little easier to find. Ask your greengrocer to order some in.

Letters

A few weeks back we suggested giving avocados a gentle squeeze to see if they were ripe. This brought about howls of protest from avocado advocates. R. Blake wrote, ''I was very disappointed to read that people should gently squeeze an avocado to test if ripe. To me this shows disrespect to any fruit as it causes bruising. I test the ripeness of any fruit by how it feels at the top around the area where the stem where it was attached to the tree.'' Thank you R. Blake. We also asked you to send in the best of your menu howlers. H. Liston was surprised to see a specials board advertising ''Nazi goreng'' while J. Knight's daughter thought a ''Tarte au Citroen'' slightly too toothsome.

S. Fisher was put off at the prospect of ''Fresh chuck oysters'' while L. Crosling was in two minds about ordering the ''Ballotine of Poultry Farmer stuffed with mushrooms''. S. Cousins, a former geologist and cheese judge, is fairly sure fermented dairy products are not extracted from underground reservoirs but still reported seeing a restaurant advertising ''Artesian Cheeses''. Steve J. is in Perth and he says his local Italian deli used to score the odd tub of prawns. ''The owner would drag his blackboard on to the footpath and proudly chalk up 'PRON'.'' Keep them coming.

Send your queries to brainfood@richardcornish.com.au