Appearance & Taste

A coconut has several layers: a smooth, deep tan outer covering, a brown fibre of 5 to 15 cm thick, a hard brown hairy husk with three indented “eyes” at one end, a thin brown skin followed by the cream white coconut meat, and finally, at the centre, thin opaque coconut juice, which changes into flesh as the fruit matures.

You can eat either the creamy white coconut meat or drink the coconut water. The coconut meat has a sweet, nutty and creamy taste with a hard and chewy texture, if coming from a mature coconut, and a soft, jelly like texture, when from a not so mature one. The coconut water, in contrast, has a sweet, fragrant, refreshing taste.

Where It Comes From

Coconuts are grown in tropical regions where they grow wild, but they are also cultivated in Thailand, India, Hawaii, Philippines, Indonesia, and Mexico to name a few.

Health Benefits

A Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals plus is a natural energy food. It is in fact classified as a "functional food" because it provides so many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.

Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil. It is rich in special fats called, medium chain triglycerides (MCT’s), which offer the body a quick source of energy, without triggering an insulin response. Hence, coconut oil has been thought to stabilize blood sugar and is used in some weight management plans.

In addition, Coconut water is the only naturally occurring isotonic juice, plus is high in potassium, fibre, proteins, antioxidants and contains other alkalinizing minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium.

Uses

Apart from drinking the coconut water or eating the flesh, coconuts are also used in many other ways, as detailed below:

• Coconut oil and coconut milk used in cooking
• Coconut water is used in isotonic sports drinks
• Half coconut shells are used in theatre, and banged together to create the sound effect of a horse's hoof beats.
• Coconuts are extensively used in Hindu religious rites. Coconuts are offered to the gods, where a coconut is smashed on the ground or on some object as part of an act that signifies a sacrifice of ego.
  

Fruit Facts

• The coconut is a type of nut
• There are more than 40 billion coconuts harvested every year
• There are 94 different types of coconuts
• The coconut is called the “tree of life”
• A coconut takes 5-6 years to mature

How to prepare to eat

1. Firstly find the 2-3 indentations at the end of the coconut, which look like eyes (these are the weak points)
2. Take a nail + hammer or a drill and drive through these points
3. Now leave this above a container to drain any juice you want to drink
4. Next place the coconut in a towel and wrap it up well.
5. Take a hammer and hammer away at the coconut till you feel it has broken into pieces
6. Finally take a knife and cut away the pulp away from the shell. It is now ready to eat.