Canned coconut milk vs cartoned coconut milk

Does anyone know the difference between canned and cartoned coconut milk? Do you use in place of cow's milk in recipes with success?

From what I found, canned milk is pure coconut milk, while what i see in the packs is more like a coconut milk drink with lots of other ingridients. I did not try the packs, but the canned milk (i also found frozen in Asian stores) is not a good substitute, though it works well in dishes where it belongs - Asian dishes, smoothies, it is also OK in coffee. I normally drink black coffee, so i always forget to add it, but the taste is OK. The cartoned one is more likely to resemble cow milk (or soy milk) but i prefer a more natural product without sweeteners and other ingridients. I do not like the taste of coconuts too much, so i struggle to incorporate both milk and oil into my diet, but i feel that it does help with the weight loss. Strawberry smoothie with coconut milk is delicious.

Thanks Ingria this info is very helpful. You are right because my SO Delicious unsweetened coconut milk in the carton has added calcium and other ingredients. The carton tricked me by have a bold ingredient list of COCONUT. After reading what you said I found the other info. I am only using it in my coffee right now and love it. I also used the canned in an Asian dish of Red Curry shrimp and it was delicious. I might try the canned in my coffee instead. I am going to try a coconut smoothie this weekend.

I drink cartoned coconut milk, haven't tried canned one so can't say what's the difference. And yeah, I use in place of cow's milk in different recipes, I haven't noticed weight loss though I've heard it might help - this article for example http://purecoconut-water.com/weight-loss/the-secrets-of-coconut-milk-weight-loss/ and this one http://coconutjuice.co/is-coconut-milk-healthy-the-useful-substances-in-coconuts/ but I like the taste of coconut milk so much and it has many other health benefits

Since my initial reply I did try cartoned one (curiosity). While I think different brands would taste slightly differently, it does not really taste like coconut milk. If you look at the calorie count and ingredients you will understand why. It is very dilluted and has very low calorie count, while real coconut milk has a lot of fat and very high calorie count. If you would want to compare it, it is more like heavy cream. You cannot drink it by the glass. So the cartoned drink would work better for milk substitute, but would hardly have health benefits of coconut milk. Having said this, please keep in mind that coconut milk is very high in fat and calories and can be part of your healthy lifestyle only if you use it sparingly and to replace less healthy fats and empty calories in your diet. I.e. there is no food that can help you lose weight if you overeat in general, but coconut oil and coconut milk are very good options for those who prefer to eat food that provides certain health benefits and do not just try to meet their daily calorie allotments.