Learning how to open a coconut is useful if, like me, you love our many dishes with fresh coconut. Here's a video and my favorite tips and tricks to easily and safely crack a coconut.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jun 24, 2017
Cooking with coconut
Coconut is one of my favorite ingredients, and I am so lucky that coconut grows widely and used in our country.
We use it in savory dishes, and -more commonly- in desserts. You can try our beloved Coconut fudge (dulce de coco), Flourless coconut cake (coco horneado), and this great Shrimp with coconut sauce.
Video
How to crack a coconut
1. Perforating eyes
Find the 3 eyes on the coconut "face" These are the weakest point in the shell, one of them is only covered by the coconut meat.
Using a clean flat screwdriver poke to break through into at least one of them, move the screwdriver around to open the hole(s) as much as possible by removing some of the flesh.
2. Pouring out water
Place the coconut eyes-side-down on a glass to empty the water. You can shake it lightly to force it out faster.
3. Crack the shell
Place a couple of folded old tea towels on a concrete floor (ceramic or wood would be damaged). Wrap the coconut with another old tea towel (this one may sustain some damage).
Using a hammer hit the coconut along its equator line (perpendicular to the face with the eyes). Rotate it to hit along the same line until it cracks and split into two pieces.
Wrap each half and hit it again near the newly created edge to break it into smaller pieces that will be easier to work with later.
4. Separate coconut meat
Jam the flat screwdriver between the hard shell and the coconut meat to slowly separate it from the shell.
⚠️ Be careful not to hurt yourself with the jagged shell edges or the screwdrivers!
5. Peel coconut meat
Peel the brown skin off the coconut meat using a potato peeler. Discard the brown rind.
6. Rinse
Rinse the coconut meat with running water to get rid of brown bits and dirt.
6. Dry and store
Place on a clean tea towel and let it air dry on the counter.
To store, wrap tightly in plastic film and place in a freezer-safe container. You can refrigerate for a couple of days to keep fresh. Freeze for up to a month for later use, but fresh is best.
Top tips
- Picking coconuts: Before you take on the job of cracking a coconut, make sure it's safe to eat.
Here are some of tricks to pick a coconut: Shake it; it should have liquid inside and you should hear it sloshing as you shake it. If the liquid has dried out the coconut is too old and almost certainly rancid. It should not smell rancid. The shell should be dry without signs of humidity or mold. - Safety: I wrap the coconut before heating it to prevent shards to fly out. Exercise caution, wear safety glasses and be careful because the shell may be sharp enough to cut.
- Washing instruments: We're using instruments that are typically found in the kitchen (hammer and screwdriver) so wash them thouroughly before they come in contact with the coconut.
What to do with fresh coconut
Grate
You can grate it to use in recipes like Dulce de coco, and Jalao.
Grate and toast
You can lightly toast the grated coconut to use in recipes like Camarones con coco and Pan de coco.
Blend
Blend with potable water and squeeze with a clean cotton cloth to extract coconut milk to make Guandules con coco and Pescado con coco,
- Learn more about me and the humans behind this blog.
- Share your questions and comments about this post.
- Subscribe to receive our recipes and articles by email.
- Please stay in touch! Follow us on:
Comments
No Comments