What in the world do I do with a coconut?

Young, green coconuts are one of the most delicious things in the world... once you get to the good part! The first step is getting it down from the tree...

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Next you have to remove the fibrous husk...

And you're left with a nice clean nut. The three "eyes" on the top are where the root and shoot would poke out if the nut were to grow - it is a giant seed after all! They're the softest part of the nut, so they're the ideal place to poke a hole to drain the delicious coconut water.

Use a hammer and nail or a drill to poke out two of these holes, and pour the water into a cup to drink. Or do it like the locals do and drink straight from the furry nut!

Opening up the drained coconut to get at the meat can be done in a few ways. My favorite is to go outside, find a concrete area, and slam it down onto the ground! If you'd like something a little less messy, put your coconut into the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or so - the increased temperature will cause the nut to crack on its own. Let it cool, and the meat will separate from the shell a bit, making the next step a little easier.

Use a butterknife or a flathead screwdriver to remove the meat- just stick it between the meat and the shell and give it a little twist. You can use a veggie peeler to remove the brown skin if you need pure white coconut, but most people just eat it.

Most green coconuts will have firm meat, but sometimes you'll get lucky and get a really immature nut with soft meat (sometimes called "spoonmeat" cause you can eat it with a spoon!)

Keep your fresh coconut meat in the fridge for about a week - if it lasts that long! It can also be frozen, but texture is much better when it's fresh.

One of our favorite things to do with our coconuts is make coconut candy. It's pretty labor intensive but SOOOOO worth it! Search google for "fresh coconut recipes" for tons more ideas of ways to use this superfood. Have fun!