Coconut cream
Also called cream of coconut, Coco López, crema de coco, coconut milk (thinner)
The thick, fat rich layer pressed from grated coconut flesh. 'Cream of coconut' (Coco López) is this cream sweetened with cane sugar and is what a Piña Colada expects; unsweetened coconut cream needs added syrup. Coconut is not a tree nut for US allergen labeling, though some people react to it.
- fresh coconut
- sweet cream
- vanilla
- toasted coconut
- rich fat
- faint salinity
Origin
Coconut cream is extracted from grated coconut meat, and the sweetened 'cream of coconut' was created by Ramón López Irizarry in a small laboratory in Puerto Rico more than half a century ago, blending coconut cream with cane sugar so bartenders no longer had to crack and press coconuts. Coco López became the base of the Piña Colada with pineapple juice and Puerto Rican rum, a drink several San Juan bartenders claim. Coconuts for the product now come mostly from the Dominican Republic.
Production and safety
Coconut is botanically a drupe seed. The US FDA counted it as a tree nut for labeling from October 2006 to December 2024 and removed it in its 2025 guidance update; this record lists no tree nut allergen, but note coconut on menus because coconut allergy exists. Refrigerate after opening and use within 5 to 7 days; the fat separates, so warm the can in a water bath and shake or blend before measuring. Sweetened cream of coconut contains added sugar and is far heavier than coconut milk; the two are not interchangeable without adjusting sugar.
Allergens: None
Common uses
- pina-colada
- Painkiller
- coconut Daiquiri
- a coconut cream Espresso Martini
- batched tropical punches
Pours that use it
Sources
- Coco López: about us, Coco López · primary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tree nut allergy (FARE), Food Allergy Research & Education · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11