I just went to taht asisan store where i buy my young coconuts, and they had just received a nice batch of BIG young coconut! I bought like then, but i opened one yesterday, and there wasnt alot of meat in it, same thing for the one i ate today...

Is it better to take smaller ones?

??

I found this if it helps:

"Actually, the size makes no difference. A larger coconut is just a larger coconut, and possible older. Remember, the white coconuts you buy were originally green. If left to mature on the tree they'd develop that brown, fibrous husk we usually associate coconuts with. So a young coconut, technically speaking, isn't "ripe" at all--it's picked before fully maturing.

The best way to test if your coconut is bad is to examine it for mold. This is usually purple in color. Green mold should be checked closely, as it's typically just some of the green husk that didn't get shaved off. Also, put your thumb in the bottom of the coconut. If it's really spongy and soft, it's probably past its freshness date. It should be relatively firm with a slight springiness at the most.

Some coconuts will have a lavender color inside, and some a light brown. There are some people who think this is due to the pesticides the nuts are dipped in before shipping. But the complicated filtration system of the coconut doesn't really allow for the stuff to soak in. So if you think your nut is bad, *try* some. Smell it. It will have an off smell, as opposed to the buttery, coconut smell it should. Taste it. If it's sour or overly tangy, it's no good.

Smaller coconuts do tend to have the softer, more pudding-like meat. Larger coconuts have been left to mature a bit longer and the meat is usually thicker and more solid...starting to transition to the dessicated nature of a mature coconut."

I first started on the raw path in 2001, and I've eaten hundreds of these young coconuts. After experimenting with as many variables as you can think of, I am still not sure that there is a perfect way to select which YC will be ripe and full of water and a thick layer of white meat.

Nowadays, I tend to buy whichever YC is heaviest for its weight. I've left really big ones alone and picked up smaller ones because they were heavier. That's about as far as I've come in 7 years.

I wish there were a better way to make sure you're getting a good one that isn't spoiled!

Ive opened quite a few that were kinda purple inside...When they are purple, i noticed that there is barely no meat left...

is it better to take the saran wrap off? Ive bought one that was bad and when i took the wrap off, it was really sticky...

I have never heard of young coconuts - I imagine they can be bought in the big cities in England but they are unheard of where I live. this is a real shame as I am very curious having read so much about them on this forum.

Is the flesh soft? sounds weird. I have only had the really hard stuff which i can only eat a bit of before I have had enough. i can never get through a whole coconut.

Please could some eloquent person describe the taste and texture for me - thanks

I'm with you, TigerDak. I pick the heaviest one, regardless of size.

xoxo,
Lita

[paintedrenderings.blogspot.com]

flipperjan- young coconut are completly filled with coco water (wich is deliscioussss) and they are plenty of soft, creamy white flesh, its very different from the old brown ones you get... Its better than an orgasm!! Well, almost...

The flesh of young coconut varies in texture, but generally I find it to be soft and kind of slimy, It's got the surface texture of a smooth jelly, but it's more cohesive. You can slice it into noodles.

One of my favorite meals is to blend fresh young coconut juice and pulp in my VM until smooth. Here's some more info about coconuts:

[en.wikipedia.org]

If you cant hear the water in it, there is no air pocket yet, and the meat is not there yet, you have to hear the water rolling in it.

How to pick a good imported young coco:

Look at the bottom of the coconut.

White color and hard surface (does not yield to finger pressure) = Fresh

Pink color and soft areas that yield to finger pressure = Not so fresh

i usually hear nothing when i shake them, even the perfect ones... Arnt they all completly filled with water?

finding a young coconut is going to be this summers work! I wonder how far and wide I will have to search

i stopped by one of the asian food markets the other day and they had some young coconuts as well as the standard mature coconuts. then they also had what looked like your regular mature coconut except they were white (as if they were recently husked).

would you guess that they were young coconuts or mature coconuts?

Dunno about coconuts being the exception, but generally smaller is better for fruits. Greater surface area to volume ratio means more phytochemical protection.