Meaning
The rich, creamy liquid squeezed from grated coconut flesh — the backbone of Jamaican cooking. It is what makes rice and peas, run dung, rundown fish, and many stews and puddings taste the way they do. Traditionally grated and wrung by hand ('trash' left behind), now often the tinned or powdered 'coconut cream' stands in. Distinct from coconut water, the drink inside a young jelly coconut.
Examples
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Yuh haffi cook di rice an peas inna coconut milk.
You have to cook the rice and peas in coconut milk.
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Grate di coconut an squeeze out di milk.
Grate the coconut and squeeze out the milk.
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Run dung need plenty coconut milk.
Run dung needs plenty of coconut milk.
Origin
Calque of English 'coconut milk'. See [[rice-an-peas]], [[run-dung]].
How it’s used
Cooking base for rice and peas, run dung, puddings. Not the same as coconut water.