Let's Talk Coconut Part 1

Seeing as this blog is called the Kinky Coconut, and the weather is finally giving way to spring which is soon to be summer, I will be adding coconut info and some yummy recipes along the way over the next few weeks. If you read my first ever blog post, link here:

http://thekinkycoconut.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2013-02-11T06:08:00-08:00&max-results=1&start=3&by-date=false

You'll find the reason behind the name of this blog is not what some people think. I wanted to attract people to read this blog to help them get clear, concise information and to help them be fearless in the kitchen. I also wanted to share some amaze bomb recipes and I use coconut oil and coconut products a lot in many of them. Coconut has always been a super food with wonderful properties, it was once even considered an aphrodisiac food and we know this belief has truth to it because of the over all health benefits of this wonder food.


This is the coconut we are used to seeing in grocery stores, they are mature coconuts. They are used for:
It's thick, firm meat used world wide in shredded or grated form. Coconut meat can be eaten natural, as an addition to soups, curries, cakes and desserts or used in coconut milk preparation. Coconut in its mature stage has a rich, nutty flavour and chewy texture with a high oil content.
Whilst there is coconut water present in mature coconuts is not as abundant as in drinking coconuts but can still be consumed or used in cooking. During maturation the liquid is used by the coconut to create the expanding layer of meat.
Many refer to the water inside a mature coconut as ‘coconut milk’ but this is not correct. Coconut milk and cream are created by shredding the meat from a mature coconut, blending with water and pressing to extract the milk and cream. More information on this can be found under  using coconuts.
Like coconut milk, coconut oil also comes from the meat of the mature coconut.
At one time coconut oil received negative press because of its high level of saturated fat. However, modern research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and that the fatty acids in coconut oil, the medium chain triglycerides, are special because they do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and they are known to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Buying & Storing:
A fresh coconut should feel heavy in the hand and when shaken you should be able to hear the sloshing of the juice inside. The fibrous shell should be dry with no dampness, particularly around the eyes at one end of the shell.
When opened, the flesh and the juice should smell and taste fresh and slightly sweet. Coconut should be kept in the refrigerator once it has been opened.
A coconut can be kept for about a month without being opened but once the shell has been cracked the coconut flesh should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and be eaten within two days.
Extreme temperature changes will cause the coconut to crack by itself.

Opening:
Place a large bowl under on the bench top with a large fine strainer in it.
To open a coconut hold it over the bowl in the palm of your hand with the eyes of the coconut facing towards your fingers. With a hammer or heavy utensil firmly tap around the equator of the coconut while rotating it in your hand.
Continue this procedure until the coconut is cracked down the centre. Depending on how hard the shell it may break open after a couple of taps or may require several.
Once the shell has cracked sufficiently the coconut can be prised apart with your fingers.
To remove the meat slide a thin knife under the meat to lift it away from the shell.
Breaking the coconut halves into smaller pieces will make it easier to remove the coconut meat. To break the halves place them on a sturdy cutting board with the exposed meat facing downwards and tap the round top with a hammer to break into smaller pieces. This will also help to loosen the meat from the shell.

If you want to see a video on just how to do this head over here, to the wonderful people at jungle produce where I snagged this info.:
http://www.jungleproduce.com.au/products/mature-coconuts/

Preparing Coconut:

Removing the Meat To remove the meat from a mature coconut slide a round tipped knife under the meat to lift it away from the shell. You can also prise the meat out by sliding the knife into the flesh at a 90ºangle to the shell and then pushing the meat outwards. (See video)
Breaking the coconut into smaller pieces will also make it easier to remove the coconut meat. After opening your coconut break the halves in smaller pieces by placing them on a sturdy cutting board with the exposed meat facing downwards and tap the round top with a hammer to break into smaller pieces. This will also help to loosen the meat from the shell.

Here is a link if you need a video, again from the  jungle produce people:
http://www.jungleproduce.com.au/coconuts/preparing-coconuts/ 

Shredding

After prising the meat out of the coconut it can be easily shredded in a food processor. Adjust the processing time for coarser or finer shreds. Also shred using a cheese grater or a traditional coconut scraper.
To avoid have the thin layer of brown shell on the peel, remove with a potato peeler.
To create curls to use as a garnish or for toasting use a potato peeler to peel slices of the fresh meat.










                                                                                                    

Scraping and Grating
There are also many traditional coconut scrapers and graters that can be used to remove the meat.
A bench mounted coconut grater has sharp circular blades which scrape the meat from the coconut in very fine and fluffy flakes by pushing the coconut halves on the blade and turning the handle.
Small hand scrapers are best for producing long curls and shreds.

Fresh coconut cream and coconut milk

• Grate or shred fresh coconut – only the white meat
• For each cup of grated coconut add 1/3 cup of warm water or less depending on thickness of coconut cream required
• Blend coconut and water in a food processor until well combined
• Sit for 10 minutes
• Strain through muslin or a fine sieve and press on the coconut to extract all the liquid into a bowl.
• This first pressing of liquid is the Coconut Cream
• Coconut Milk is in fact diluted Coconut Cream that is produced by a second pressing of the fresh grated coconut or even by adding more water.

Toasting

Place coconut slices/curls on a baking tray in a low oven and toast until golden brown or place in a non-stick pan over medium heat tossing gently. Toasted coconut is a delicious garnish for your favourite curry, for livening up a salad or sprinkled on cakes, desserts and cereal.

How to include more coconut in your diet

• Use coconut oil in all your cooking. Replace your other cooking oils such as canola or all purpose vegetable oils, with virgin or expeller pressed coconut oil. You can also bake with coconut oil too!
• Add to soups, drinks and yogurt. Gently melt your coconut oil and slowly stir it into your smoothies or yogurt. This will help the coconut oil from clumping when added to cold food. The coconut oil will melt when added to hot drinks or soups.
• Add shredded raw coconut to salads and stir fries.
• Toast shredded coconut in the oven and use to garnish cakes and curries.
• Use shredded raw coconut when baking slices, cakes and brownies. You’ll get a much moister result than using dried coconut!
• Snack on raw shredded coconut.

Drinking Coconuts – nature’s natural isotonic beverage

Prized for their pure, sweet coconut water, drinking coconuts also have amazing health benefits, containing the five electrolytes we already have in our body – potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, sodium and calcium. They are fat and cholesterol free.
Also known as young coconut, the drinking coconut is harvested when the coconut is still green, at about six to nine months old. Inside the husk the shell is much thinner than a mature brown coconut and is white in appearance.
At this early stage of development the coconut contains clear, sweet water and is often said to have a fizz similar to a carbonated drink. The average young coconut contains about 2 cups of water and is lined with a thin layer of soft, jelly like, meat (endosperm) on the inside of the shell which can easily be scooped out with a spoon.
In Australia drinking coconuts are usually presented with their green outer husk partially removed. The drinking coconuts you find in the supermarkets are white in appearance, cut to a cylindrical shape with a pointed top.

Recently coconut water has become big news with celebrities and the sporting fraternity and there are many packaged coconut waters available throughout the world. Due to its high level of electrolytes and low sugar and sodium, coconut water is rapidly replacing sports drinks as a more effective and healthy, natural alternative and is commonly referred to as nature’s isotonic beverage.
However convenient the packaged waters are there is no doubt that nothing beats the pure and unadulterated goodness of a fresh, pure, raw drinking coconut.

Serving suggestion

Drinking coconuts are usually presented with a hole in the top, a straw for easy sipping and sometimes a spoon. Once the water’s gone you scoop up the flesh.
The flesh of the coconut (endosperm) at this stage is translucent, jelly-like and quite delicious. It can be mixed with the juice, added to salads and desserts or eaten straight from the shell.

How to select a drinking coconut

Jungle Produce drinking coconuts are present in a cushioned foam net to protect the coconut from cracks and bruises which will contaminate the juice and flesh.
When selecting a drinking coconut it should feel heavy in the hand, be free of mould and bruising and have a firm white exterior. Reject any drinking coconuts with signs of mould, cracks or deterioration.

Storage

For freshness, drinking coconuts should be kept refrigerated. Each drinking coconut features a best before date as a guide to when it should be consumed by.
However, if stored correctly a drinking coconut can often last well beyond the best before date so it is worth opening an expired coconut to check rather than just discarding.

Open a drinking coconut

Ensure you have a steady and clear work space and place your drinking coconut on a large cutting board.
Select a heavy kitchen knife or preferably a good quality meat cleaver.
Method 1:
Steady the coconut by placing your hand around the base of the coconut. Make sure your fingers are not poking out anywhere.

Use the bottom corner of your knife to strike the coconut about 1½ inches below the point. (You will need to have a good firm swing to break through the husk and the shell so it is a good idea to have a couple of practises first.)
Turn the coconut 90º and do a second strike which joins to the first cut. Turn the coconut another 90º and strike a third time joining the second cut.
Using the bottom corner of your knife, insert it into the second cut and prise the top off.

Method 2:
Turn the coconut on it’s side and cut the husk off the point of the coconut, rotating as you cut, to reveal the coconut shell.

Whilst still on its side, hold the coconut firmly towards the bottom with one hand ensuring your fingers aren’t poking out. Using the heal of the knife do one swift strike at the shell keeping the knife angled slightly away from your fingers.
Quickly turn the coconut upright and insert the bottom corner of the knife in the hole you have created and prise the top off.

 There's another thing called a coconut sprout and it looks like this:

So what is a Coconut Srout?

They taste like manna from heaven?

Coconut sprouts are called uto in the Cook Islands, o'o in Samoa, manzanas de coco (coconut apples) in Latin America and here in Seychelles we call them koko zerm (or coco germes if you wanna be a little more high falutin'). In Hawaii, this food was considered so powerful that only the royals were allowed to eat it.

In Seychelles, on the other hand, the koko zerm is now considered poor man's food and most people ignore it in favour of other tasty man made "treats". In fact, when we moved back here a few years ago, my son had to show it to some of his friends who had grown up here and never tried it.

I pretty much love anything to do with coconuts, but coconut sprouts have got to be my favourite part of a coconut. Maybe they remind me of my childhood (I ate them when on holiday here.), maybe I just don't get to eat them too often or maybe they are as delicious as I think.

So what is a coconut sprout really? Essentially, a coconut contains a small seed like ball that floats around in the coconut water within the shell. When the coconut drops off the tree this small ball begins soaking up the water and turning into a round spongy mass that eventually fills the entire inside of the coconut as it sprouts.

It's very hard to describe the texture of koko zerm. Some say it's like marshmallow; others say it's like candy floss. To me, it's like a crispy sponge, if you can imagine that.

A sprouted coconut can be picked when the shoot is no more than a foot and a half tall. Open it the way you would any other coconut (machete in hand or bash it up against a rock) and pick out the inside. The yellow outer part can be eaten, but if it's a slightly older sprout, this layer can taste a tad rancid. The white fluffy part is always sweet and coconutty.

I'm guessing it is highly nutritious as well; sprouts and seeds of all kinds tend to be concentrated powerhouses of nutritional goodness.here's where I got the info on coconut sprouts:

http://www.islandwench.com/2013/07/did-you-know-you-can-eat-coconut-sprouts_12.html

Okraw on youtube has a great video on this, I had never heard of it before, nor have I eaten it but if you have do tell in the comments down below & don't forget to subscribe!

Here is the link to the video if you want to know more:
 https://youtu.be/UkBcN91kJ5o