0 The New Complete Book of Food
Buying This Food
Look for: Coconuts that are heavy for their size. You should be able to hear the liquid sloshing
around inside when you shake a coconut; if you don’t, the coconut has dried out. Avoid nuts
with a wet “eye” (the dark spots at the top of the nut) or with mold anywhere on the shell.Storing This Food
Store whole fresh coconuts in the refrigerator and use them within a week.
Shredded fresh coconut should be refrigerated in a covered container and used in a day
or so while it is still fresh and moist.
Refrigerate dried, shredded coconut in an air- and moistureproof container once you
have opened the can or bag.Preparing This Food
Puncture one of the “eyes” of the coconut with a sharp, pointed tool. Pour out the liquid.
Then crack the coconut by hitting it with a hammer in the middle, where the shell is widest.
Continue around the nut until you have cracked the shell in a circle around the middle and
can separate the two halves. Pry the meat out of the shell.
To shred coconut meat, break the shell into small pieces, peel off the hard shell and the
brown papery inner covering, then rub the meat against a regular food grater.What Happens When You Cook This Food
Toasting caramelizes sugars on the surface of the coconut meat and turns it golden. Toasting
also reduces the moisture content of the coconut meat, concentrating the nutrients.How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Drying. Drying concentrates all the nutrients in coconut. Unsweetened dried shredded
coconut has about twice as much protein, fat, carbohydrate, iron, and potassium as an equal
amount of fresh coconut. (Sweetened dried shredded coconut has six times as much sugar.)
Coconut milk and cream. Coconut cream is the liquid wrung out of fresh coconut meat; coco-
nut milk is the liquid wrung from fresh coconut meat that has been soaked in water; coconut
water is the liquid in the center of the whole coconut. Coconut milk and cream are high in fat,
coconut water is not. All coconut liquids should be refrigerated if not used immediately.Medical Uses and/or Benefits
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