Fruit of the day: Coconut

We were walking through the market the other day when a local girl we often hang out with, saw a coconut and asked what it was. At first, I thought it was strange--there are coconuts all over the place! But then it occurred to me, that most folks around here are probably more used to seeing them whole, or already "dressed" completely. Which made me think--maybe coconut is exotic enough to deserve its own day.

a "whole" coconut from the market

what I used to mean by coconut from the market

Now, I know all about how to use whole coconut in this form. Just smash it open, spend much longer than you anticipated picking all the meat out of the shell, probably followed by grating it up (along with most of your fingers) and then wondering why it doesn't feel or taste like the candy stuff from the bag.

But, see, that's not really a whole coconut at all--in fact when you buy that hard wooden shell, most of the coconut is already gone!  Here is a WHOLE coconut. Fresh off the tree and carried down the Rio Coco river to my kitchen. 

I hear that knowing the source of your produce is all the rage in the US--and we definitely know the source of our coconuts, his name is Onedir. Check out this crazy video of him collecting coconuts for us "city folk" back in Jinotega.

Click here for video

Once you have the coconuts in hand, you're going to have to get that husk off. You can use a machete, a sharp knife, or even burn it off--the age of the coconut is a big factor. The older and dryer the husk, the easier it is to shred and pull apart by hand--but the more difficult to cut. The younger and greener husks chop off in chunks better, but you're going to need a cleaver or machete.

get a sharp knife and dig out a starting place

slice and pull off the fibrous stringy husk--no extra arm workout needed today!

I see the "nut". we're getting close!

 Now that you have dispatched the husk it's time to get into where the good stuff is hiding. Although, I suppose depending on your needs, the husk can be pretty good stuff too. I've heard it is a good medium for growing seedlings, I have seen it used as a floor scrubber, a fire starter, and have even been offered some nice dry shredded husks when on my way to the latrine. (yeah, I was grateful, but still took a "pass" in favor of some nicer stuff I packed in my pocket).

pretend those three dots are a face and poke a hole in the "mouth"--it's the softest

let the coconut water drain out

there's lots of juicy goodness in there!

Now comes the time to open it up. Some people will advise  you toast the nut (this will make it break in a bunch of little pieces, but the meat is supposed to come off easier). You can machete it open in your hand, smash it with a rock, or tap right in the center with a hammer, and if it's fresh, you're likely to get two perfectly split halves. 

I think a thin flexible knife is about the best tool for removing the meat. You can just pry it loose from the wooden shell. If you want it perfectly white, you will need to shave off the thin brown coating on the meat, or you can just eat that. It's fine. If you aren't "processing" the coconut, smashing it into pieces that fit in your mouth is best. That way you can just chew the meat right off of the shell. 

And that's one of the main things about coconut--you just eat it. I spent quite a bit of time trying to make my coconuts "turn out right"--trying to make shredded sweet flakes that, while delicious, have very little to do with what coconut is. In English we call it cocoNUT--I think that's meant to be a hint. It really does taste like a delicious, soft, meaty nut. (Yes, yes, I know it's a technically a drupe not a nut--but I'm talking flavor and function here). Yep, you can make candy, curry, smoothies, and soup from coconut--but I think the best thing is to just eat it. Yum. 

The End

Special Bonus Features

See, the thing is, there is just some other cool stuff you should know about coconuts. 

Such as: 

A coconut tree produces year round, so there are always coconuts in multiple stages of development on a tree. A good tree can produce 10-15 coconuts per month--so they are truly a source of abundance.

There are plenty of other methods of dispatching a coconut. Especially if you've had some serious practice. There are these guys in Managua who will sell you mature coconuts completely cleaned of husk and the wooden shell but the meat and the water inside are perfectly intact. Now, that is some serious machete talent. 

You don't have to be a full time coconut butcher to cultivate some serious machete skills--check out our pal Onedir busting up some coconuts for the guys on the river this week. 

Click here for link.

Coconuts are useful and extremely different at different stages of development. Maybe you've seen "young" or "green" coconut for sale in a fancy-pantsy grocery store. The white part you are seeing is the fibrous husk in its green state. Inside, the wooden shell hasn't yet formed. Young coconuts are all about the coconut water. At this stage the coconut water is sweeter than what comes from a mature coconut. There's often 3 or 4 cups of liquid inside! Between completely green and mature, the young coconuts begin to form the coconut meat--and it is a soft jelly like texture. Less flavorful than mature white coconut meat, but still a nice treat. And on a hot day--nothing could possibily be better. Yum!