Okay, so I would like to start regularly buying young coconuts! They are actually pretty reasonably priced out here in the Chicago area, but opening them is a mystery to me. On a couple of occasions I had the produce dude go in back and use a machete, but it's not very practical. And I have Youtubed the instructions and they always talk about a big ole knife, which creeps me out. I don't like anything bigger than a paring knife in my house!

Has anyone ever seen or does anyone know of some safe, non-risky device to open these wonderful, delicious, yet hard-as-a-rock items? Thanks in advance!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2009 12:07AM by banana who.

I drain the young coconut and then put it in a vise to hold it and use a hacksaw to cut it in half.

It sounds like you are a woodworker if you have a vise? I guess it's safe in that case, but I am looking for a solution for the average person...Thanks for the input, though. I remember using a vise in shop class, LOL. I wonder if they still do that stuff.

banana who,

A chef's knife does the trick. You gotta have a chef's knife lying around! Knives aren't scary--lack of safety with them is. Follow the YouTube instructions, being sure to use a very sharp knife(a dull knife is a dangerous knife) and keeping your fingers and torso out of the way of the hacking, and you should have success. Good luck, in any case : )

i drill a hole in it , drain it , then smash it with a hammer to break it into a couple of peices (im not a big fan of knives either lol)

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Right. I use Jgunn's method. Your basic hammer and a couple of screwdrivers will certainly do the job!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Agreed, first drain the water using a drill, auger, what have you. Rawguru.com sells a neet coconut auger tool.

There's an art to carving coconuts. A google search for 'coconut carving images' shows how creative people can be and carvers at work. A small knife that you are comfortable with might be all you need. Let us know how it goes.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2009 12:31PM by loeve.

When I buy imported young coconuts (which I now rarely do, as they aren't fresh, have an insane carbon footprint and the shell is dipped in chemicals), I use a paring knife:

1) Turn coco on its side

2) Grip knife with blade pointing down

3) While holding the base of the coco with the other hand, bring the knife down forcefully a couple of inches below the shaved tip of the coconut (piercing the shell with the knife).

4) Once the blade is inside the coconut, leave it there and bring the coconut right side up (on its base).

5) With the blade still inside the coconut, use one hand to keep the coconut steady while pulling on the handle of the knife, which will move the blade in a circle inside the shell, cutting it as it goes.

6) Rotate the coconut on its base and repeat #5 until a circle has been cut in the shell, which can be lifted off.

Hope that makes sense!

Thanks to Paul Nison for teaching me this method.

Thanks for that info and to everyone else!

One thing that jumped out at me in your post: the not-fresh coconuts. I heard they were dipped in chemicals, but what is the alternative? Do they have locally-grown (USA at least) coconuts that are free of this stuff? And do they ship to the Midwest?

I've seen Florida 'young' coconuts for sale on the internet including young coconuts by the case which can be shipped by UPS. I like the 'brown' coconuts like you find in the supermarket and crack open with a hammer and which don't have a reputation for being dipped in preservatives, but it does't sound exactly what you are looking for.

Wendy-Lou

..oh, banana, the Florida 'young' coconuts can be ordered fresh with the whole husk, as opposed to shaved, bleached white and shipped from over seas.

The problem with that is that it would be even HARDER to open with that dang outer shell!

As chemically-laden as the young coconuts are, I have heard that they are not affected by the stuff they are dipped in. I just bought one today so here's hoping that is true, along with my being able to actually open it, LOL!

"As chemically-laden as the young coconuts are, I have heard that they are not affected by the stuff they are dipped in."

That's what I heard. If you'd like to see a raw chef opening a young Thai coconut this link has a video showing safe use of a chef's knife and a neat spatula for getting the meat out--

[www.giveittomeraw.com]

There's a nod to chef's knives, possible chemical dips and the attitude that I'm going to enjoy them anyway.

It's good to hear smaller knives work well too.

Omega, does Paul Nison have a video using a paring knife?