Love those coconuts

One of our favourite treats is to share a young coconut.  They make a wonderful snack, drink, or dessert.  Until a week or so ago, we found them quite a challenge to open  - which has been one of the few drawbacks to enjoying a young coconut.   The other main drawback has been trying to find them in a grocery store, and harder yet to find them on sale!

Young Coconut, fresh from the store, individually wrapped

Amazingly, we found them on sale today at 3 for $5 so we brought some home to eat.  Luckily, Peter found a website with a video showing us an easy way to open them - this, after years of trying to find that perfect little spot to stick in a really strong knife, and then forcibly cut it open.  Lots of wasted effort.  The new way is MUCH easier and I'll try to show it here.

Shave the fibrous covering from the top part with knife - the sharper,
the better. Shave following the angle of the coconut top.

This is what it looks like 'shaved' or bald.

Take the butt end of a big knife and slam it into the top,
just above the widest part, where it will crack open just a wee bit.

Once the lid is cracked, it will crack all the way round and is easy
to pry off bit by bit all around.
Be careful to not spill too much coconut water!

Here you can see the clear water and thin layer of soft meat.
Or, can you?

Use a spoon to scrape the soft, young meat from the lid.

Pour the water into a glass or bowl, and scrape the young meat
from the inside of the coconut. I use a spoon.

Voila!  Fresh young coconut to enjoy! Nutrition from coconuts is off the map! Potassium, manganese, lauric acid, zero cholesterol, less fat than whole milk, a small amount of natural sugars, and very little sodium - all wrapped up into a liquid that has the electrolyte equivalent of our own plasma.