Opening Thai coconuts - Yeah!

[jacsam]

Okay, I can't remember who posted this idea on how to open baby coconuts but it is incredible, hardly leaves a mess and best of all it works. I had kind of given up on these until I read this post on how to open them. Where it comes to a point, you use the butt of a large knife and whack a few times in one place that is about 1 inch out from the point, when it breaks through, you move over and whach a few times in that spot. The idea is to make a circle that is about 2 inches wide. When you have about an inch left stop cutting and just lift it back like a lid, pour out the water and take a spoon and scoop and scrape out the meat. The hole should be big enough to see where you need to get the coconut meat out and if you've missed any. Before this I had wood chips all over my counter and it really was a mess and alot of work. I love this way and will now not hesitate to buy them because of the hassle and mess. THANKS again for the information!!!

[raweater]

If you're talking about the trimmed coconuts with a "pointy top", be careful as those are dipped in embalming fluid (formaldehyde, a very powerful cancinogen). When I first bought yound coconuts I had gotten those thai trimmed ones and found a very strange and chemical smell and taste to them. I knew something wasn't natural about them. I then got the whole fresh untrimmed ones which confirmed my suspision, the weird taste was in fact the embalming fluid that had made it's way up to the coconbut water, all trimemd ones I tried had this terrible taste. None of the fresh untrimmed ones have this taste, because they don't have to be dipped in toxic preservatives as they are left whole.

[raweater]

Here's a quote from a website:
"Effects from exposure to embalming fluid include: bronchitis, body tissue destruction, brain damage, lung damage, impaired coordination, and inflammation and sores in the throat, nose, and esophagus. IT IS EXTREMELY CARCINOGENIC."

[Carlsbad]

What do the untrimmed ones look like, and where can you get them?

thanks!

[raweater]

The untrimmed ones are either with the whole green husk or some seem to be partly trimmed without the embalming fluid dip (the smell and taste is obvious). I was lucky since I had been looking for thai coconuts for a long time, and the first store I found that had them, a very small low tech asian market that looks like it's from 50 years ago had both the trimmed, partly trimmed, and whole young coconuts.

[raweater]

Here's a picture comparing both:
http://www.rawguru.com/store/raw-food/organic_wild_young_coconuts.html

My whole ones aren't quite as smooth and perfect as in the picture but the same thing, but I don't think they're organic, they at least aren't dipped in embalming fluid.

[jacsam]

If you're talking about the trimmed coconuts with a "pointy top", be careful as those are dipped in embalming fluid (formaldehyde, a very powerful cancinogen). When I first bought yound coconuts I had gotten those thai trimmed ones and found a very strange and chemical smell and taste to them. I knew something wasn't natural about them. I then got the whole fresh untrimmed ones which confirmed my suspision, the weird taste was in fact the embalming fluid that had made it's way up to the coconbut water, all trimemd ones I tried had this terrible taste. None of the fresh untrimmed ones have this taste, because they don't have to be dipped in toxic preservatives as they are left whole.
I didn't know about that, thanks. Is the green husk hard or can I still open it like I have been doing? Thanks for the tip, I'll be more selective and informed now when I purchase coconuts. Please let me know if it's still going to work on opening them the way I explained in my post because I was so excited to find a way that worked for me.

[Ingenue]

Raweater OMG! That pic is the one I have set as my laptop wallpaper and I had never been to that site before. As soon as I read your post, I knew it was going to be the same pic. Totally off topic, I realize, but I just love synergy like that.

Cheers for the info!
Emilie

[Dylan]

If you're talking about the trimmed coconuts with a "pointy top", be careful as those are dipped in embalming fluid (formaldehyde, a very powerful cancinogen). When I first bought yound coconuts I had gotten those thai trimmed ones and found a very strange and chemical smell and taste to them. I knew something wasn't natural about them. I then got the whole fresh untrimmed ones which confirmed my suspision, the weird taste was in fact the embalming fluid that had made it's way up to the coconbut water, all trimemd ones I tried had this terrible taste. None of the fresh untrimmed ones have this taste, because they don't have to be dipped in toxic preservatives as they are left whole.

UGH I swear things like this are so upsetting to me! It's like, you try so hard to purify your life and bring in fresh, beautifying things, and they end up dipped in formaldehyde.

[raweater]

I didn't know about that, thanks. Is the green husk hard or can I still open it like I have been doing? Thanks for the tip, I'll be more selective and informed now when I purchase coconuts. Please let me know if it's still going to work on opening them the way I explained in my post because I was so excited to find a way that worked for me.

Well the store I found has 3 types:
-The shaved/pointy topped ones
-Whole green coconuts
-And something that's sort of in between

The "in between" ones are barely harder to open than the trimmed ones. The whole green ones do take a few extra minutes as there is maybe 2 inches of flesh all around, so it's basically the same method (at least to the one I used on the trimmed ones, not sure what method you're using) but just takes more time.

I may ask next time what the "in between" ones are, but those have very little meat, at least the ones I opened, they're still worth it for the water alone (I used to buy pasteurized coconut water in small tetra packs for $2.50, it's actually cheaper to get a whole coconut which contains even more and fresher water).

[Rubyred]

I've read in some places that the coconuts are treated with chemicals, but no one has been able to prove it one way or another. I pulled out one of my young coconuts and cut into the husk and it smells like melon, not chemicals.

Also, I've read in some books and on these forums, that coconuts that are purple/pink inside are not rotten, but they really young coconuts. The rotten ones are greyish inside. Since I've had several that are purple/pink inside and they tasted okay it makes me believe they are indeed very young and not rotten. The meat from a purplish coconut is also very thin(almost non-exsistant) and like jelly, as though its barely had time to grow. If it were rotten inside wouldn't the meat be as thick inside as the other coconuts? The only difference being the meat would be purple? It doesn't ring true or make sense to me. It makes more sense that the purplish/pink coconuts are young and not rotten.

However, I have read if the coconuts are not refrigerated properly the water will begin to ferment. This is something I have experienced. I have eaten a lot of coconuts and only came across one that was rotten, although I came across a few more that had started to ferment, mostly my fault I believe, because I just didn't have room to stick them all in the refrigerator.

So be careful of what you read, it may not be true..... :D

[raweater]

Well the ones I had definately had a chemical smell and taste, perhaps they are not all dipped. Are you talking about the pointy trimmed ones? How would exposed flesh not rot for weeks without preservatives? There must be something there because exposed flash rots very fast.

[Rubyred]

Well the ones I had definately had a chemical smell and taste, perhaps they are not all dipped. Are you talking about the pointy trimmed ones? How would exposed flesh not rot for weeks without preservatives? There must be something there because exposed flash rots very fast.

The ones I've bought are the pointy trimmed ones, and they are wrapped in plastic. I once left 3 in the car for a few days when it was warm, (Didn't have enough room in the refrigerator) and the white parts began to turn a rust color. One had to be thrown away because it had a fermented taste, but the other two were okay. I had put 4 in the refrigerator and those remained perfectly white. So if the ones I had purchased had been treated with chemicals, I'm assuming the ones in the car would have remained white too.

I live in San Francisco and visit 3 stores that sell these coconuts, and haven't had problems. It is possible some suppliers are treating them before they get to the market. For the record I've seen mangos from the Philippines and other veggies imported from Chili and those are more delicate than coconuts, so it really is possible that the young coconuts we get are not treated chemically if they are taken care of properly during the import process. Actually, the only bad luck I've really had with coconuts are the dark brown ones - they are hard as heck to open and the juice is often bad or non-existent.

I'm just being a bit of a detective here. I eat them practically everyday and I have seen my health improve because of it, so I tend to believe all these rumors are just heresay until proven otherwise. I would be very concerned if all of these rumors were proven to be true.