How to crack and open a coconut
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It’s easier than you think
If you’ve ever seen a coconut and are confused about how to get the goods out, don’t worry – you’re not alone and it’s probably easier than you think.
Draining coconut juice
If you’re going to make your own coconut milk , which means mixing the meat with the juice and adding water, you’ll want to discard the coconut and collect all the juice before opening. To do this, use the three shells of the coconut to open the hole.
Try each with a knife. If you find the eye softer, use the knife to create a half inch hole. Scoop the coconut over the bowl to drain the juice. You can also twist the hole in the coconut eye with a screwdriver.
Although you can scoop the cake directly into the bowl to extract the juice, the process can be a bit messy. To reduce the cleanup, use a striking and draining method.
How to open a coconut
The rest is pretty straightforward.
Hold the coconut in your non-functioning hand. Look for an imperfect “equator” line running around the center of the coconut. Take a hammer and smash through this line with no quick effort, holding the coconut hand a finger away. Rotate the coconut and continue to destroy the equator line until the coconut opens. Eventually you will start to triple the coconut. Use your fingers to pull the two halves out and place them down on the counter.
You can use a heavy butcher’s knife instead of a hammer, but be careful not to cut yourself.
Not all coconuts are created equal. Some are drier than others, some are heavier, some are bigger, some are smaller and some are fresher, but the method is the same, which means some will open faster than others.
After opening a coconut, then what?
Hit the sides of the coconut that are attached to the shell repeatedly with a hammer to help loosen the flesh from the shell. Touch the entire shell area to loosen all the flesh. Don’t worry if the shell breaks into smaller pieces. Slide the sandwich between the crust and the meat and pull the meat out of the crust. Repeat with each piece.
Caution. Use a hollow sandwich and avoid injury to your hands and body.
Alternate method for removing meat
Most people find that removing the meat from the shell is the best use of fresh coconut. This is an alternative method to try.
Wrap the coconuts in foil. Place in a 400-degree oven for an hour. Wait for them to cool.
After that, the meat should come out. If you want to remove the thin brown skin from the coconut, use vegetable peelers to do this, using the same care you use when peeling other Vegetable Recipes.
Jummy Part
Next up for you. You can enjoy the coconut milk meat raw, or mix raw coconut pieces with dried juice and a couple of cups of water and then strain the liquid with cheese to make raw coconut milk. You can start by roasting the meat, pounding it and then using it as a dessert garnish or eating it as a snack.
Whatever you do, it’s delicious.
Here are a few coconut recipes you might want to try:
Chocolate coconut pudding Coconut glazed salmon Coconut freezing.