A few months ago I was travelling North along the East Coast of Australia and came across tonnes of trees with many coconuts.
YUM! Fresh coconuts are one of my favourite foods! I’ve heard that coconuts are rich in healthy fats so they’re good for you as well as delicious.
BUT, how do you reach them (look for the fallen ones) but more importantly how do you open them?!
The first coconut I ran across I attempted to tear off the thick fibre on the outside – couldn’t get through it – and so I took a saw to it – couldn’t get through it – and then I tried an axe to get through the thick skin – couldn’t get through it.
BAH! So many delicious coconuts to eat, but I couldn’t figure it out!
Luckily, one day I was walking along the beach with Willie Gordon who is an expert at opening up coconuts. Apparently it makes a difference if the coconut is young or old. The older they are the tougher they are. So, grab a recently dropped one.
Willie first peeled the tough fibre off the coconut which took about 5 minutes time – eating coconut is a time consuming activity when in the bush.
He says that once you start peeling it becomes easier to get the rest of the fibres. I think the coconut I tried opening was too old and tough. Then find a sharp edge such as a broken tree branch and hit the opened coconut until it cracks.
We drank the liquid and ate some of the coconut which was absolutely delicious.
Next Willie showed me a coconut that was growing a young shoot. When a coconut has a young green shoot it has an inner core that is spongy and very sweet. This is definitely my preferred type of coconut to eat.
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