Enjoying a coconut

[andrea1970]

So, I got cajoled into buying a coconut at the store tonight.  I can hear the juice sloshing around inside.  Any words of wisdom for the best way to open the thing and how to best enjoy it?  The guy at the store informed me he uses a drill to get into his.  Although hubby is in Africa, I'm pretty sure he would experience a jedi-like pang if I used his drill on a coconut!!

And once I get into it, what do I do with it?

[rats_have_rights]

I use a hammer and chisel. Look for the 'eye' of the coconut, where the shell is softest.

"In order to drain the liquid from the coconut (coconut water) you obviously need to make a hole in the nut. The easiest way that I have found to do this is with a pair of scissors. Using one blade of the scissors (see the photo below) probe the three "eyes" on the end of the coconut until you locate the soft one. Then use the scissor blade to ream a hole in this eye. You should easily be able to make a large enough hole to drain the coconut. Drain the coconut water into a glass. If it has a sweet coconut smell, take a sip of it to check the taste. If it has a sweet fresh coconut taste, proceed to Step 2. (Drink the coconut water or refrigerate it for later use.) If it smells or tastes sour or moldy, there is no point in proceeding; return it to the market for another nut or a refund."

http://www.coconutoil-online.com/Opening%20a%20fresh%20nut.html

[itschelsea]

ooh i bought one of those once just for th heck of it! i just smashed it on a rock outside.  the milk tastes soooo nasty, but the coconut looks cool!

[Beth]

...and when you've had your fill toss the whole lot in with the rats. They'll have blast with it. I tend to limit the amount of flesh I leave for them as too much leads to runny poos but they do love having them.

[fluffy pluffy]

ooh i bought one of those once just for th heck of it! i just smashed it on a rock outside.  the milk tastes soooo nasty, but the coconut looks cool!

I do that when all the coconut milk is out,and scrape off the meat with my teeth! I love coconuts! (Oh,and I just get the milk or juice out by drilling a hole into the "eye" of the coconut,and then pour it into a cup.)

[Rose]

I've only seen it done with a machete.

[Lilija]

The juice inside is an aquired taste, it's not sweet, slightly tart, a little bitter, and tastes like coconut-water. I happen to love it over ice.  (or over ice, mixed with coconut milk, and rum...)   It's not really coconut milk, that's another product that results from boiling shredded (very) fresh coconut with water and pressing out all the moisture. 

That said, you can drill out the eyes, that's what I do.  I use a hand drill, instead of a power drill, because, I dunno power tools on fruit kinda freaks me out...  If the milk isn't draining, drill one more hole on the opposite side. Drain it off in a glass, then wrap it in a clean towel.  Whomp it a few times with a hammer, and there ya go.  Take a sharp short bladed knife, like a paring knife, and pry the meat out of the shell.  That part is tedious. Peel the dark brown part off, before you eat it.  Enjoy!

BTW, the jedi-like pang had me cracking up.

[pinkie1205]

I had a teacher that brought in a coconut once.  She just used a hammer and nail to get the milk out then cut it open (I don't remember how she did that part though)


See in my house we love our power tools.  If I brought one home no one would have a problem with me using a power drill to get the milk out then using a table saw to cut it in half...LOL

[baschlais]

Be careful not to eat too much!  I love coconut and over-indulged once, much to my stomach's despair.   
It was a long and painful night... 
Brenda

[Heather]

Are you guys talking about the nasty, old, brown coconuts or the young ones? I only EVER get the young ones which are usually incased in a spongey white fiber/material, or it's labeled. The meat can be scraped out with a spoon and little effort and the milk is oh so delicious. You haven't had coconut until you eat a young one! Don't waste your time on the old ones.. they pretty much have no nutritional value.

EDIT- here ya go
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/youngcoconuts.html

[Keltikka]

So how did the coconut opening go?
I have to "live vicariously" through you guys enjoying your coconuts ~ I'm deathly allergic to fresh/raw ones. If I drink any of the coconut milk/water or meat I'll be stop breathing within 30 seconds!
Enjoy!

[MiniMuffin]

Is it really possible to enjoy a coconut?

Heh. I really dislike coconut, the texture is icky (shredded is the worst) to me. I got one once to try, we hammered a hole with a nail to drain it, into one of the eyes, then wrapped it in a towel and smashed it out on the driveway. Apparently the "real" way is to whack it with a huge knife along the seam to split it right in half, but I sure wouldn't suggest trying that!

[fluffy pluffy]

Be careful not to eat too much!  I love coconut and over-indulged once, much to my stomach's despair.   
It was a long and painful night... 
Brenda

Ugh,I've had that happen before..

[zoocrew26]

Haha, i'm jealous! I love coconut, but i recently developed an allergy to it. Grrrrrrr. lol.

[andrea1970]

The coconut has been opened!!!  I used a mallet and a nail, then a tent stake to put a hole in a couple of eyes to drain the water.  I ended up blowing in one hole to help it drain faster.  But, the down side of my technique is there was a lot of crud in the water.  I guess I should have stripped and rinsed it first.  My older son thought the water was nasty, the youngest son that started the coconut adventure seems to like it okay.  Or he won't admit that he doesn't after all the anticipation.

I then used a mallet and chisel to get it split open eventually.  We had a couple chards of coconut that I scrapped out.  Now I don't know what to do with the thing.

Hopefully the coconut curiousity has been satisfied.  I am really very happy with shredded coconut in a bag.  Or coconut-flavored rum.

[RatAttack59]

then using a table saw to cut it in half...

My ex would have used the table saw on ME....

Is it really possible to enjoy a coconut?

My daughter who HATES coconut in most forms LOVES Anzac crisps!~ - give 'em a try... very rich, much butter, definitely not health food...

[fluffy pluffy]

Haha, i'm jealous! I love coconut, but i recently developed an allergy to it. Grrrrrrr. lol.

Aw,that's too bad..I don't have any food allergies,but I seem to have an allergy to some kind of pine tree in the forest down by our backyard.