Coconut and general eating question

[blenderbabe]

I've been reading a lot lately about coconuts and it seems everyone recommends the young coconuts. my problem is its extremely hard to find them where i live. i've even checked all the asian markets and most the time they look at me like i'm nuts. but on the very rare occurrence that i can afford the ones they carry at the local health food store they never seem as nice as everyone says they should be.

i can find the brown ones at the grocery store easily and i've been wondering if i should just get those instead. i know that the meat is much harder to get out but at least i could grind it down and sprinkle it on meals better ... i don't know i'm just slammed with school and work and trying to eat right just feels impossible. i'm still trying to my salads and smoothies but i just feel like i'm not eating enough calories ... any ideas?

[Mikey_H]

brown/young are both amazing in different ways..

All the ways you can use the young ones are pretty obvious, since they're so easy to deal with.

With the brown ones, it's a little more tricky. After I chop it in half I just use a blunt but not too sharp big knife to peel off the meat from the shell. Took a while to get used to but now it's like nothing.
Then I just throw the whole chunks in a food processor and it eventually grinds up into a creamy texture. You can even add warm water to it when it's blending, strain it and freeze it. Then you have fresh coconut milk you pressed yourself.

[kaybee]

i have the same problem. im in italy and i cant even get cilantro where i am, nevermind young coconuts. i can get the brown ones though and have succeeded recently in blending them and then straining to get a creamy milk, but its a ton of effort. makes a super salad dressing or dip though mixed with lemon or lime juice and herbs or spices.

mikey h--how do you get it to a creamy texture? the only way ive ended up with coconut milk/cream is to blend the heck out of it with some water, and then strain it through a coffee press to remove the pulp. the pulp never seems to blend up smooth for me :(

[Raw Angel Mom]

Ask a store to carry them. My asian store wasn't carrying them and he now order it for me.

Which Country are you?

If you are in Canada, many farm boy has them now.

All the best.

[michigan roman]

nut and seed milk fruit smoothies

grind the nut or seed in blender on its own first ,
almond / sesame / pumpkin / hemp / sun flower / etc

then add water / blend / strain

backk in blender add fruits / berries / wheat germ / etc / blend
for calorie / protein packed smoothie

my fave is almond milk - carob powder - bananas - dry dates - tbsp wheat germ - tbsp hemp seed

[DebB]

I'm surprised you're having a hard time finding them in Florida - I mean, they grow right there in FL. I've watched Paul Nison videos where he collectss them where they've fallen on the roads and such.

Perhaps you could leave a message on thedurianking or reneoswald - both on YouTube and they could direct you where to find them in FL (they both live in FL). *Ü*

[streetsurfer]

In the Flagler/Palm Coast area I have been getting them at Walmart. Melissa's and most recently Best Oriental Produce brand. You may have to inquire when they stock them. Each time I've found them I got the last couple/few on the shelf.

[Mikey_H]

i have the same problem. im in italy and i cant even get cilantro where i am, nevermind young coconuts. i can get the brown ones though and have succeeded recently in blending them and then straining to get a creamy milk, but its a ton of effort. makes a super salad dressing or dip though mixed with lemon or lime juice and herbs or spices.

mikey h--how do you get it to a creamy texture? the only way ive ended up with coconut milk/cream is to blend the heck out of it with some water, and then strain it through a coffee press to remove the pulp. the pulp never seems to blend up smooth for me :(

I just use my food processor. I'm always sure to peel the residue of husk/shell off the coconut when I peel it out so that what I'm blending up is all the pure, white meat of the coconut. Whenever I leave any "brown" material on there it kinda messes up the texture.
It's creamy, but you still won't get rid of all the fiber. I would imagine the better blade you have, the finer ground it will become. The only way is making milk and straining it.

[blenderbabe]

I'm surprised you're having a hard time finding them in Florida - I mean, they grow right there in FL. I've watched Paul Nison videos where he collectss them where they've fallen on the roads and such.

Perhaps you could leave a message on thedurianking or reneoswald - both on YouTube and they could direct you where to find them in FL (they both live in FL). *Ü*

i know i was surprised that i can't find them either but then again i practically live in georgia i'm that up north. i even asked the local asian market that i love but they can't order them ... next time i swing by jacksonville i'm going to see if they offer them there. maybe young coconuts are easier to find further down south?

i might seriously have to try making coconut milk from the brown ones ... i mean what the point of having a monster blender if i don't experiment with it :)

[kaybee]

aw, mike, okay--i guess i misunderstood "creamy" as "smooth" ;p
i wish i had a vitamix! but i will try taking off the brown skin and see what improvement that makes. thanks!

[Seductive Arts]

Ask a store to carry them. My asian store wasn't carrying them and he now order it for me.

Which Country are you?

If you are in Canada, many farm boy has them now.

All the best.

Kaybee will be out of luck. I've been to Italy. They don't have a lot of Asians living there like the United States, or Canada. Italy is not really ethnically diverse country and Italians really don't like to eat non-Italian foods much. Italians don't use coconuts for anything, so it will be hard to find.

[kaybee]

yep, kaybee is out of luck. out of luck when i live in ireland too! i have never ever seen a young thai coconut in either country. the mature brown ones i can get here though, though they are kind of hit or miss about the quality. there is only 1 asian store in rome as far as i know, and its the only place in rome you can get cilantro...and the cilantro tastes like chemicals. SO true that italians arent much for non-italian foods. that leaves me at a loss for DATES :( and various other stuff.

[Katterin]

For the cilantro (or coriander as we call it in the UK and Ireland!), could you not buy some seeds to plant when in Italy and grow your own? You should be able to get it in Ireland no problems.

As for the coconut - I too have this problem as a UK resident, but I'm going to see if I can find anything on the Internet. If I do, I'll try to post the link - you would then be able to get them when in Ireland at least. x

[kaybee]

hey katterin-- youre right, growing it WOULD be a good idea. I guess ive sort of given up for now though because I'm leaving in 3 month and its not something you can get seed for here. I cant be bothered to mail order it when i have so many packs of seeds sitting back in ireland. i tried growing stuff in october, since i have a huge sunny balcony, but the high winds killed all my herbs. bleh. yes, certainly it can be both bought and grown back in ireland, though not as easily or as cheap as its available in the US, and not organic, at least where I live. At least i can really grow stuff myself there though

The young coconuts arent anything I would get regularly in ireland even if they were available, because they are just too expensive when I have seen them even in the US. but they would be nice for making noodle dishes, etc every now and again. maybe they are available at some specialty shops near dublin or cork..but i live hours away, out in the middle of nowhere :) The UK has a better variety than Ireland because it has more diverse ethnicity living there I think--have you tried asian markets?

[Seductive Arts]

yep, kaybee is out of luck. out of luck when i live in ireland too! i have never ever seen a young thai coconut in either country. the mature brown ones i can get here though, though they are kind of hit or miss about the quality. there is only 1 asian store in rome as far as i know, and its the only place in rome you can get cilantro...and the cilantro tastes like chemicals. SO true that italians arent much for non-italian foods. that leaves me at a loss for DATES :( and various other stuff.

Really no dates? I know Southern Italians use dates for desserts, since they are somewhat influenced by Arab culture.