Hello
I just bought some young Thai coconuts and when I received them ( I order thru a buying club) they were wrapped in plastic wrap and a bit moldy. I took them anyway thinking that it was just from the wrap and the inside would be fine.

I opened them and the water & meat tasted ok, not super fresh compared to straight off the tree. Also, the water and meat had a brownish tint. I thought the water should be clear and the meat really white?

Is this normal? I've never had store bought young coconut before only fresh from the tree in places like jamaica or mexico.

Also, what about non-organic coconuts? I'm assuming they don't spray or fertilize but wondering if they do anything like adding some kind of preservative or mold inhibitors (although mine were moldy) after cutting them and before shipping them?

Thanks in advance.
Miche

It sounds to me like they were bad. The milk should be clear and the meat should be very white. And since they were moldy on the outside, then they were bad!

Thanks yogamama- that's what I thought - I'm going to try to get a refund.
Thanks

they are ok like this.. I've had bad ones and they taste really really awful when they are bad. I would say they are just old and under grown. The thinner the meat on the side of the coconut the truly younger they are. Anyway this is just my experience.

Sometimes they can get a bit moldy on the outside with out being bad. But if the water was brown that sounds wierd.

I get the all the time (5 times a week) and a chop off the top pour the water in a blender then cut them in hald and spoon out the pulp add a banana and ciamon and they are great. Sometimes I find them with a good layer of meat others have less meat and some of it is gel like. I think this depends on how mature they are.

when coco is bad you will KNOW it. it smells like nothing else, oh so ugh.
if it tastes ok and doesn't hurt your belly, trust that. have a tiny bit on an empty stomach and see. or even just swish some around in your mouth and see how you feel after that.

bad young coco makes me sad. it's such a pleasure to crack one open and indulge yourself.

Thanks all for your response. I decided to make some cookies with the meat and ditch the water - yes...it was dissapointing - I have been waiting a while to get the coconuts and just eat them fresh trying to relive days on the beach...oh well......maybe next month they'll be fresh. I'll let you know if i get sick.

all the ones i see have a purply mold underneath. it's put me off buying them, which is a shame.

i stopped eating young coconuts a while ago... i cant get past the odd smell... i cant tell if its the natural coconut smell, or the fumes from the preservatives that they're bathed in... probably a mixture of both. i'll wait until i can find organic ones.

Are there organic ones? I've never seen any around where I live. Generally I've found they're fine if there's a little mold on the husks. I've had purple coconut meat, too, which just means they're really young. Those kind have more water and the purple meat is VERY soft like gel. They're perfectly fine, just a bummer to not have much meat when I open one up.

>>Are there organic ones?<<

im sure they exist, but i also havent found any where i live.

im sure if demand were strong enough, Whole Foods would oblige.

I had organic coconuts from Whole Foods in Denver. They were $6.99 each!

Yikes! I just bought my organic young coconuts yesterday from Whole Foods and they were only $2.99 each! I am glad I don't live in Denver!

ive heard recently that some young coconuts are boiled before they reach the stores. does anybody know if this is true or not? I cant seem to find any info to back up that claim, and the people who told me are actually taking all of the raw stuff at their cafe off the menu(that had coconut in it) because of this!

I have not heard young coconuts are boiled. Please see the article below on how they are treated... This is an article I wrote a few years ago regarding coconuts.


Reports of Young coconuts being treated prior to shipment

We have had reports that the young coconuts that are shipped over from Thailand may be treated with a preservative and a fungicide before being shipped.

The young coconuts are it dipped into a solution of sodium meta bisulfite (3% concentration with a fungicide thiobendazole) for 5 minutes.

This information has not been confirmed. We are still investigating this, and want to get product testing done to see if there is any residual chemicals inside the coconut meat and water.

I believe the coconuts nuts are treated in this way for two reasons:

1. The Sodium solution acts as a "preservative". Similar preservatives are commonly used in beer making and wine making - Sulfides (Sulfur dioxide) as well as dried fruits (so they keep their "pretty color). If the nuts were not preserved, they would turn brown and begin to oxidize.

2. The Thiabendazole is a systemic benzimidazole fungicide used to control fruit and vegetable diseases such as mold, rot, blight, and stain. It is also active against storage diseases and Dutch Elm disease. In livestock and humans, thiabendazole is applied to treat several helminth species such as roundworms. Thiabendazole is also used medicinally as a chelating agent to bind metals. This same fungicide is widely used on CONVENTIONAL produce, most commonly bananas. If you read most ANY box of conventional bananas, it will say "treated with Thiobendazole".. It also appears that Apples, Pears and Citrus are widely treated with this same fungicide.

Please read on for further information and links regarding the above two chemicals.

1. More information on Sodium meta Bisulfite -

MSDS Sheet
Canada's information about Sulfitest
The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances
2. Thiobendazole

Pesticide Information Profile
Evaluation of pesticides in food
Management of Fungal Diseases in Tropical Fruits PDF
Chemical Abstract Number (CAS #) 148798
Synonyms Thiobendazole
1H-Benzimidazole, 2-(4-thiazolyl)-
Arbotect
Storite
2-(4-Thiazolyl)benzimidazole
Analytical Method EPA Method 641
Molecular Formula C10H7N3S
Use FUNGICIDE FOR SPOILAGE CONTROL OF CITRUS FRUIT; FOR TREATMENT OF DUTCH ELM DISEASE IN TREES; FOR CONTROL OF FUNGAL DISEASES OF SEED POTATOES; MEDICATION ANTIHELMINTIC (NEMATODES); MEDICATION (VET): ANTHELMINTIC. Agricultural fungicide Medication: anthelmintic As fungicide, controls green mold, blue mold, and stem end rot of citrus fruits;to control Fusarium basal rot and Penicillium blue mold on ornamentals bulbs and corms; to control crown rot on bananas; to control blue mold rot, bull's eye rot and gray mold on apples and pears; to control black rot, scurf and foot rot of sweet potatoes; to control Fusarium (dry rot) in potato storage. Also as a preservative for reconstituted tobacco. Control of Aspergillus, Botrytis, Ceratocystis, Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Corticium, Diaporthe, Diplodia, Fusarium, Gibberella, Gloeosporium, Oospora, Penicillium, Phome, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia, Septoria, Thielaviopsis, Verticillium spp., etc in asparagus, avocados, bananas, barley, beans, cabbage, celery, chicory, cherries, citrus fruit, cotton, some cucurbits, flax, mangoes, mushrooms, oats, onions, ornamentals, pawpaws, pome fruit, potatoes, rice, soya beans, strawberries, sugar beet, sweet potatoes, tobacco, tomatoes, turf, vines, and wheat. Also used for control of storage diseases of fruit and vegetables. A food additive permitted in the feed and drinking water of animals and/or for the treatment of food-producing animals; also permitted in food for human consumption.
Apparent Color COLORLESS CRYSTALS; WHITE TO PRACTICALLY WHITE POWDER; White crystals; Tan crystals
Odor ODORLESS
Melting Point 304-305 DEG C
Molecular Weight 201.26
Half Life 30 days

Conclusion:
If one is eating conventional produce: the treatments of the young coconuts are not anything "outside of the ordinary". If one is eating non-organic bananas, one is getting the Thiobendazole. Its also present on apples, citrus, pears, and other fruits and vegetables (as mentioned above). The Sulfides that the cocos are dipped in are also present in many processed foods, as well as wines and dried fruits. Once again, this chemical probably also appears in one's diet at some point anyway.

I am personally reducing my consumption of young coconuts until further investigation and testing can be done to determine the amount of residual chemicals absorbed into the meat and water of the coconut.

I am normally very sensitive to any "conventional" treatment of produce. If I eat other kinds of produce that is treated, I will break out in rash. When consuming young coconuts, this has not happened to me. My girlfriend reports that occasionally after consuming a young coconut she will have an asthmatic response. This is possibly due to the level of sulfites present in some coconuts. I believe that some coconuts may absorb the chemicals in greater concentration than others.

Another precaution I am taking is to never unwrap the outer plastic the coconuts come wrapped in, and only handle the coconuts by the plastic. I will no longer be composting the young coconut shells in my organic compost pile due to the fungicide (which has a half life of 30 days).

If I had to choose between non-organic bananas, apples, pears or citrus fruits for a "does" of Thiobendazole, I would much rather consume young coconuts to get my daily dose.

The above statements are my personal opinions, and research. This is not given as medical advice. Please consult your doctor for medical advice..

Hi, what are you trying to use from your Young Green Thai Coconut?
Because usually, when people buying Green Coconut, they are seraching for the water (not the milk, but the water, its a very different things)I found myself is a big fan of coconut water as well, but nowadays i can get it easily from health food store, there's few brand of them, you have to be careful, because some of em has lot of added sugar,colour, etc.
my favourite ones named cocofina, it's 100% natural, no preservatives, and it gives you energy boost!

I bought one from the health food store a few weeks ago. It was $2.99.

I tried to cut through the tough, fibrous outer layer but no luck yet. I don't have any really good knives. So this poor little coconut is still uneaten, waiting patiently in my fridge.

I think I will stick with a half brown coconut, already opened, those are only about $1 at my grocer. There is some oxidation at the outer layer but I don't mind. Only a tsp of coconut meat in the blender can make my fruit salads even more ambrosial and a half coconut eaten like this can last for a week or more.

I could do unopened brown coconuts but I can't find my hammer and I am too lazy to buy a new one.

I got two young coconuts yesterday. Opening them was not a problem, they showed me how and it worked out just fine.

The problem is that when I opened it the inside is not white at all, it's more of a purple and a much diferent texture that the one I tried before. The water/juice is clear but I find that I really don't care for the taste of this one and wonder if it's normal or if there is something wrong.

Is it normal for the inside to be a color other than white?

Thanks for any experience or opinions.

I've had a few like that. It seems that they turn purple when they go off (at least sometimes anyway). I normal taste the water, and if it's nice drink it, otherwise toss it and find a one with white flesh.

How did they show you to open it?

Cheers,
Ian.

Thank you so much.

I trimmed the soft part off at the same angle as the pointed end down to the shell, then about an inch and a half or so back from the end I hit it a few times with a heavy knife kind of like I was chopping wood. Not exactly what they did but I don't have a cleaver like theirs. First at one angle then the opposite until a chunk came loose. Then I stood it up (flat end down) and cut the top off using the hole I made as a starting point. I could have poured the juice out first but it worked out fine.

Well, since I don't know exactly what the water is supposed to taste like in a good one, I expect that I might just open the second one now and if it's the same I'll toss them both and look for another one to try. I don't even want to make a smoothie out of these if there is a chance they may be off. In the mean time, I off to the store for a regular coconut, I really have a taste for some now.

Thomas

Wow!! what a difference.

What I as calling a purplish color, others call a pinkish gray. At least that's what it was called on a site I found with a picture of exactly what my coconut looked like. Oh, and sodoffsocks, you were right, it was an example of what they should not look like. No wonder I didn't care for it.

So, I now have fresh young coconuts and have tried them on their own and in different smoothie concoctions. When they are fresh they are great just scraped out of the shell. So far my favorite smoothie is some frozen strawberries and banana with a couple of oranges squeezed and pulp with the coconut meat and the coconut juice for a liquid.

Thanks again, I had almost decided that it was something that I just didn't care for.

I just read this yesterday that genefitnutrition.com will ship you organic young thai coconuts but it's $3.95/lb for 15 lbs. They also ship fresh durian! A big splurge but i think they're the only people in the US that import a few other varieties besides Morn Thong. You can order them at (866) EAT PURE. They have a website, genefitnutrition.com but i don't see the sales info on it yet.

I used to eat young coconuts by the box until i found out about the dipping procedure....

Love,
Uma

uma Wrote:


I used to eat young coconuts by the box until i
found out about the dipping procedure....



Please continue, this has the sound of something I'd like to know.

see the dipping procedure in the post above. they are treated with fungicide and sulfides.