I've ended up with a coconut. The wife says her friend suggests simply
peeling it down. My thinking is that you can't just "peel it down". I would
drain the fluid, then beat it with a hammer or something to crack it.
If anyone knows how to tackle a raw fresh coconut I would appreciate it. I
think this is somewhat "asian". Thank you in advance.
M

Musashi wrote:
> I've ended up with a coconut. The wife says her friend suggests simply
> peeling it down. My thinking is that you can't just "peel it down". I would
> drain the fluid, then beat it with a hammer or something to crack it.
> If anyone knows how to tackle a raw fresh coconut I would appreciate it. I
> think this is somewhat "asian". Thank you in advance.
> M

Does the coconut still have the husk? The husk is a thick fibrous outer
layer, and is usually pale green or yellow. If the husk is still there,
you'll have to remove it before tackling the shell.

I only have experience with coconuts without the husks - that is, with
only their hard, dark brown shells on the outside. I was taught to hold
the coconut in one hand over a large bowl and whack it with the back
edge of a cleaver (not the sharp edge!). After a few strong whacks the
shell will crack and the liquid will run out into the bowl. Then you can
turn the coconut and give it some more whacks on the uncracked part
until the whole thing falls in two.

Young coconuts have whitish shells and little or no liquid. They are a
lot easier to open than mature coconuts.

--
- Jeff Lichtman
Author, Baseball for Rookies
http://baseball-for-rookies.com/

"Jeff Lichtman" > wrote in message
news <snip>
> I only have experience with coconuts without the husks - that is, with
> only their hard, dark brown shells on the outside. I was taught to hold
> the coconut in one hand over a large bowl and whack it with the back
> edge of a cleaver (not the sharp edge!). After a few strong whacks the
> shell will crack and the liquid will run out into the bowl. Then you can
> turn the coconut and give it some more whacks on the uncracked part
> until the whole thing falls in two.

correct but look for the 3 eyes, these should be at the "top" of the
coconut, simply rotate it in your hand until the mid section faces upwards &
start hitting it with the back of your cleaver. Alternatively.. grab & screw
driver & hammer & poke out 2 or 3 of the eyes & pour out any juices. Then
you can wrap the whole coconut up in a large kitchen towel & relief some
stress by smash it up with a hammer ; )

Once it's broken into pieces, you can use a spoon & place it between the
white meat & brown shell to lever the white bits out. After this... 101
coconut recipes awaits you ; )

DC.

DC. wrote:
> "Jeff Lichtman" > wrote in message
> news > <snip>
>
>>I only have experience with coconuts without the husks - that is, with
>>only their hard, dark brown shells on the outside. I was taught to hold
>>the coconut in one hand over a large bowl and whack it with the back
>>edge of a cleaver (not the sharp edge!). After a few strong whacks the
>>shell will crack and the liquid will run out into the bowl. Then you can
>> turn the coconut and give it some more whacks on the uncracked part
>>until the whole thing falls in two.
>
>
> correct but look for the 3 eyes, these should be at the "top" of the
> coconut, simply rotate it in your hand until the mid section faces upwards &
> start hitting it with the back of your cleaver. Alternatively.. grab & screw
> driver & hammer & poke out 2 or 3 of the eyes & pour out any juices. Then
> you can wrap the whole coconut up in a large kitchen towel & relief some
> stress by smash it up with a hammer ; )

Actually a nail worked better than drilling, as you have less debris
in the milk.

--
Dan

"Jeff Lichtman" > wrote in message
news
> Musashi wrote:
> > I've ended up with a coconut. The wife says her friend suggests simply
> > peeling it down. My thinking is that you can't just "peel it down". I
would
> > drain the fluid, then beat it with a hammer or something to crack it.
> > If anyone knows how to tackle a raw fresh coconut I would appreciate it.
I
> > think this is somewhat "asian". Thank you in advance.
> > M
>
> Does the coconut still have the husk? The husk is a thick fibrous outer
> layer, and is usually pale green or yellow. If the husk is still there,
> you'll have to remove it before tackling the shell.
>
> I only have experience with coconuts without the husks - that is, with
> only their hard, dark brown shells on the outside. I was taught to hold
> the coconut in one hand over a large bowl and whack it with the back
> edge of a cleaver (not the sharp edge!). After a few strong whacks the
> shell will crack and the liquid will run out into the bowl. Then you can
> turn the coconut and give it some more whacks on the uncracked part
> until the whole thing falls in two.
>
> Young coconuts have whitish shells and little or no liquid. They are a
> lot easier to open than mature coconuts.
>

Thanks.
If the "husk" is that kind of hairy stuff on the outside then yes.

If you mean by raw fresh coconut as the matured one ( brown
colored)with the husk still in it. You have first to remove the husk
with the tip of a bolo or short machete. You have to make some
divisions by cutting the husk longitudinally( top to bottom) for
easier prying with the bolo. It takes some effort to remove the fibrous
husk by using the lever principle.
Once you remove the husk what you see is the round coconut shell with
three eyes.. You then have to strike it with the back of the bolo or
meat cleaver while turning the nut in circular fashion ensuring that
the cracks are well aligned so that it will come out with a clean
vertical cut.
After that if you want to extract the coconut meat , milk or cream. The
traditional way is to grate it with a special coconut grater looks
like a rounded chisel blade with spikes. Or if you don't have such,
you can chop the pried nut meat in a food processor to flakes and use
that to squeeze the coconut juice from it.
IF you squeeze it as is ( dry) , you will end up with coconut cream;
if you wet the meat with water you will get the coconut milk.
Usually in Asian cooking the coconut cream and milk is used for
cooking.
Roy

Do it:

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