Coconut question

[BedHead]

I bought a coconut and got it cracked it open but then I couldn't get any of the meat out. It was stuck to this inside part of the shell - dark brown and thin. And the meat was very hard. I ended up having to cut the brown stuff off of the little pieces that I could break off from the inside. WAY too much work.

Did I have a lousy coconut or is there something I'm missing?

[noobmom]

I just saw Alton Brown's show for coconut cake and the way he prepared the coconuts was to crack them open by baking them (after draining the coconut water). Then he removed the thick part of the shell. For the thin brown layer stuck to the meat, he peeled it off with a vegetable peeler.

Did your coconut have any water inside it? If so, I can't imagine it was too old. Coconut meat from mature coconuts is pretty hard/dry even when fresh.

[sophiesgrandma]

The brown skin is entirely etable.

[BedHead]

Hmm, ok so I guess it was OK then. Yep, it had yummy coconut water inside. I never even thought about eating the thin brown skin part! Next time I'll just leave it on then

[cristeen]

We always used a screwdriver to pry the meat off the outer shell. And then a potato peeler to peel the thin brown skin off the meat.

[BedHead]

Originally Posted by cristeen

We always used a screwdriver to pry the meat off the outer shell. And then a potato peeler to peel the thin brown skin off the meat.

So do you get the meat off in a nice big piece then? Because mine came off in little chunks...........

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by BedHead

So do you get the meat off in a nice big piece then? Because mine came off in little chunks...........

Usually decent sized chunks. Depends on the age of the coconut and how dry the meat is. But a screwdriver is much better able to stand up to the prying pressure than say your good knife.

[ChocolateNummies]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Usually decent sized chunks. Depends on the age of the coconut and how dry the meat is. But a screwdriver is much better able to stand up to the prying pressure than say your good knife.

When I've pried it out in the past, I've found it helped to score the meat first with the tip of my knife. It seemed to help it pop out in larger chunks.

[vegmom]

It is hard to eat a coconut. I love the fresh meat though - it tastes way better than the dried dessicated coconut meat.