How to store sweetened coconut: The sugar in sweetened coconut acts as a preservative, extending its shelf life compared to similar products. For the best results, store sweetened shredded coconut in an airtight container in a cool, dark place, like your pantry, for up to 6 months.
Coconut Flour
To make coconut flour, manufacturers steam unsweetened coconut meat to remove a large portion of its fat content and then dry it and grind it into a fine, soft powder. Though often used as a gluten-free alternative to all-purpose flour, you cannot use coconut flour in equal proportions. It’s highly absorbent—much more so than starch-based flours. Should you attempt a swap, the result would likely be dense and very dry. Of course, if you’d like to experiment, you could substitute 1 cup all-purpose flour with ¾ cup AP (or an all-purpose gluten-free blend) plus ¼ cup coconut flour for a baked good with a mild coconut flavor. Or you could go straight to a recipe developed with the stuff, like this Gluten-Free Coconut Layer Cake from cookbook author Zoe Singer.
How to store coconut flour: After opening, coconut flour is best kept fresh by being stored in a sealed container in the freezer. Similar to other flour, coconut flour typically has a shelf life of 1 year, though chilling it will greatly extend its viability.
Coconut Chips
When we talk about “coconut chips” at Epicurious, we typically mean a pre-made snack, such as Dang or Bare. These are dried, toasted, usually salted, and sometimes flavored with things like chiles, sugar, and citrus. You could make your own coconut chips by buying coconut flakes and making Anna Stockwell’s Homemade Spiced Coconut Chips recipe. We also like using packaged versions as a mix-in for cookies or snack mix or as a topping for salads, grain bowls, soups, curries, or anywhere you want some extra crunch.
How to store coconut chips: Coconut chips should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.
Coconut Sugar
Coconut sugar is a popular alternative to cane sugar and offers a deep caramel flavor. Unlike the other coconut-based products on this list, coconut sugar comes from the sap of the coconut palm tree rather than the flesh of the coconut. Because of this, the taste isn’t what most people think of when they hear “coconut flavor.” Despite that—or maybe because of it—coconut sugar is one of Natasha Pickowicz’s favorite baking secrets: “Though more expensive than cane sugar,” she says, the price is worth it because of its “unique butterscotch flavor that’s great for caramel sauces, buttercreams, custards, and even jams and compotes.”
While some sources cite coconut sugar as a healthy alternative, it’s important to remember that coconut sugar is still sugar and that any reported benefits should be regarded with scrutiny. As noted by the Cleveland Clinic, the nutrients present in sugar aren’t available in large enough quantities to be that beneficial. That said, the flavor of coconut sugar is reason enough to use the stuff. “I love swapping it into forgiving recipes that use brown sugar,” says Pickowicz, “like a streusel topping for a coffee cake or a nutty crisp with bubbling fruit, so you can really appreciate its toasty, rich essence.” Use it in Crustless Coconut Sugar Cheesecake, Coconut-Sugar Crinkle Cookie Sandwiches, and Molly Baz’s Coconut-Chocolate Mousse.
How to store coconut sugar: Coconut sugar should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place in your kitchen, such as your pantry, for up to 1 year.
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