How to open a young coconut at home. How to open a coconut at home

It is a nutritious valuable fruit, from the pulp of which many useful things can be prepared. The main thing is to know how to open a coconut.

Inside the fruit there is juice with a pleasant taste, as well as snow-white pulp, from which healthy oil is extracted, fragrant milk, cream, cream, shavings valuable in cooking and even flour are made.

All these products can be purchased in a store, for example, while relaxing in a tropical country, or ordered online. However, they are not available to everyone, and they cost a lot. However, you can make any coconut product at home if you buy mature coconuts and learn how to break them properly.

The easiest way

There are many different ways to open a coconut. The photo below shows one of the simplest.

You will only need:

• the coconut itself
• cup.

Hold the coconut firmly in your hand. Take a strong knife, turn it with the point up and tap the coconut with it around the circumference. When the coconut cracks, pour the juice into a glass.

If you think this method is dangerous, try opening the coconut as shown in the following video.

If you didn’t succeed, we use the 100% method.

What is needed for this

• a tool for creating a hole in a coconut (drill, screwdriver, hammer or other);
• a tool for breaking a nut (hammer, rolling pin);
• towel/plastic bag;
• knife for vegetables;
• mature coconut.

Making a hole

First you need to make a hole in the coconut by cutting it in any part of the nut or, more conveniently, in one of the "eyes". The softest eye is usually located closer to the center.

To learn how easy it is to find the soft eye of a coconut, see the following video.

One of the most suitable tools that will help to make a hole in the fetus is a high power hand drill. It can be replaced with a corkscrew, screwdriver or even a durable skewer. In extreme cases, a long nail and a hammer will do.

After driving a nail into the coconut, pull it out with the back of the hammer and get a hole.

It is optimal to pierce the coconut in one of the "eyes", because these three places are the thinnest in the outer coconut shell. Accordingly, drilling in these places is much easier than in others. To make the process easy, it is important to immobilize the fetus and fix it well on a non-slip surface. A kitchen towel can help with this. Putting the coconut on it will prevent it from slipping out while drilling.

To drain the water inside the coconut, simply turn the fruit over, remembering to make a second hole before doing so. This water can be used in cooking, added to drinks. You can insert a straw into the hole made and drink water. If you do not plan to do anything with it, you can just pour it.

How to break the shell

The next step is to break the nut into pieces.

The following options are available to you:

1. After wrapping the fruit in a towel or placing it in a plastic bag, place the coconut on a hard surface. Let it be a sidewalk, a concrete floor, or something equally solid. We do not recommend breaking the walnut on the countertop, as there is a high risk of damaging it. Beat the coconut in the towel or bag with a hammer or rolling pin to break it open. Apply maximum strength to the blow directed to the middle of the fetus. Some coconuts open immediately, while others require a lot of effort.
2. You can hit a nut on a fairly sharp and strong stone.
3. There is also the option of cutting the fruit into halves using a hand saw. Sawing a coconut is along its central seam - you will see it between the "eyes".
4. Alternatively, you can simply tap the fruit with a hammer to make a crack. Inserting a sharp object (knife, nail, scissors or other) into this crack, apply force and split the fruit into halves.

At home, you can open a coconut using the oven. After removing the juice from the fruit, put the nut in a preheated oven. After holding it at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes, you will see how the shell spontaneously bursts.

Pulp Extraction

To cut out the flesh of the coconut, use a small knife, such as the one you use to peel vegetables. Cut the flesh to its full depth, and then detach it from the shell with the tip of a knife or fingers. To make it easier, cut the flesh into rectangular or V-shaped pieces - it will be easier to extract them.

If possible, the pulp can also be detached with a metal spoon, corkscrew or screwdriver. It must be inserted into the gap, which is located between the outer shell and the pulp, and then try to pick off the white mass.

Until relatively recently, the vast majority of the population of our country saw coconuts only on TV screens and enthusiastically dreamed of trying coconut milk, reading about how delicious it is in the novels of Mine Reed and Jack London. Some of the curiosity was quenched after Bounty chocolate bars began to appear on sale. Their unusual taste gives an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcoconuts, but this is still far from the same.

With the development of supermarket chains, coconuts appeared on the shelves, from where they naturally moved first to carts, and then to the homes of Russians. And this is where the problems started. About that, at home, few people have a clue. Having first tried to pick the shell with a knife, you can quickly come to the conclusion that such a delicate tool cannot be opened for anything in the world, even if you donate this very knife. The next tool that logically comes to mind for every Russian person is an ax. Knowing how to open a coconut at home, we can safely say that an ax is quite suitable as a “opener”. But using it in a city apartment can cause partial damage to the floors, and, more sadly, to the limbs.

Skillful Russians suggest using a drill, followed by a saw, then a chisel and a hammer. Desperate to find out at home, many unlucky buyers simply beat them with all their might on the floor or on the wall. As a result, the coconut can actually crack, flooding floors and walls with its famous milk, and particles of hard shells will scatter throughout the house.

But there are also more gentle methods. Let's find out at home quickly and without losing expensive content.

First you need to learn how to choose coconuts. Let's start with the fact that in fact the fruit has nothing to do with nuts. It is called so simply out of habit. Since Europeans are simply not used to such a hard peel of fruits. The coconut shell is actually the skin, the milk is the endosperm, and the flesh is the seed. The longer a coconut lies on a supermarket shelf, the more it dries out, and if stored in a damp room, it can become moldy. In order not to acquire such a spoiled fruit, before buying it, you must carefully examine it from all sides in search of traces of mold, smell it and shake it a little. If splashing is different inside, then feel free to buy.

Now about how to open a coconut at home. Examine it carefully. See the three dark spots on its surface? This is where you need to start taking action.

Try poking them with a knife or a large nail. You can do this quite easily. Two holes are enough and the third spot can be left alone. It drains through them. Do not be alarmed if, instead of a thick white stream, a transparent liquid pours into the cup. That's exactly what it looks like. It would be more logical to call it coconut juice by analogy with birch juice, but it just so happened historically.

Now let's move on to how to open a coconut. The photo shows that you need a hammer for this. Also, grab a towel. In a towel, you wrap the coconut so that the shell fragments do not scatter all over the house.

Place the wrapped fruit on the floor and hit it with a hammer. Coconut will open for sure. You can choose juicy pulp from it, and make exotic saucers or ashtrays from large fragments of the shell.

The exotic taste of coconut is familiar to everyone. Numerous confectionery products with its addition are especially popular. Real lovers buy nuts and only then think about the question of how to open a coconut at home.

It is better to buy nuts in places where they are sold in large quantities, for example, in supermarkets. A lone fruit in a display case can lie for many months, the contents can turn sour or moldy.

When choosing a product, you should carefully examine its peel: the color should be even without spots. If traces of mold are found, the product should be immediately put aside, it is dangerous to eat it.

Three circles should be visible on one side of the nut, through which the coconut received nutrition from the palm tree. The peel in these places should be whole and elastic. Try to push it with your finger, if it gives in, then the fruit has begun to deteriorate and is not good for food.

After assessing the appearance of the coconut should be shaken. Splashes of liquid indicate a good quality product.

What do you need to open a nut?

After choosing the right nut, the question arises of how to open a coconut at home. The peel of the fruit is extremely strong and thick, so dexterity and working tools or a large, strong knife will be required to open it.

Suitable walnut opening tools:

• hammer;
• large knife, cleaver;
• screwdriver, awl;
• a sturdy, large enough cutting board.

The most popular ways

Before opening the shell, you should make a hole in the place of one of the three coconut specks and pour out the juice.

After the liquid contents have been extracted, you need to get to the juicy pulp. The question arises of how to properly open a coconut with the help of improvised tools.

To open a thick peel, you should choose a suitable knife. It must be strong and big. You can use a cleaver for chopping meat and bones. Let's open the nut.

1. We take the coconut in the left hand, we hold the knife with the right.
2. We apply strong blows to the side of the nut, gradually turning it along the longitudinal axis.
3. As soon as the sound has changed, the peel should be examined - a crack has appeared in it.
4. Apply several blows to the damaged area until the coconut is completely split.

In this case, the nut is split in half. After separating the pulp, the peel can be used for crafts and other purposes.

With a hammer

Provided that you have sufficient physical strength, you can crack a nut with a hammer.

1. The fruit is placed in a strong plastic bag.
2. Installed on a solid surface, concrete floor.
3. Strong blows are applied to the nut with a hammer.

As a result of this method, the peel splits into fragments of irregular shape.

You can split the shell in the area where the three holes are located. After the holes are made and the milk is extracted, you can proceed to opening the shell through the existing holes.

To do this, insert a strong knife into one of the holes. Then hit the handle with your hand or any strong object. The blade of the knife will go deep into the nut. After that, you should carefully turn the tool by the handle, as a result of these actions, the nut will crack.

In the oven

If you do not have the necessary tools at hand or lack physical strength and determination, the thermal method will come to the rescue. Instructions on how to open a coconut in the oven are as follows.

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Drain liquid from coconut.
3. Put the fruit in a deep form.
4. Leave in the oven for twenty minutes.

After such processing, the nut shell will burst, and the pulp will easily break off from the walls of the peel.

Extraction of juice and pulp

Before opening the fruit, you should drain the liquid contents - coconut milk. To do this, you need to pierce three holes with an awl or a screwdriver, which are clearly visible on one side of the nut. The peel in these places is not so dense, so this is not difficult to do.

To quickly drain the milk, two holes are enough: liquid will come out through one, air will enter the fetus through the other. The liquid can be drunk or used in cooking or home cosmetics.

If coconut milk or pulp has an unpleasant or sour smell, it is better to throw out such a fruit. This is evidence of product spoilage.

You can insert a straw into the hole and enjoy coconut milk straight from the nut.

For better separation of the pulp, the nut is placed for several minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees or for ten minutes in. Before this, the juice must be poured. The white mass can be eaten fresh or made into shredded coconut and used in cooking.

When splitting a coconut, you should remember about safety, as its thick shell can break off and scatter with a strong blow. In addition, it is necessary to carefully handle tools: a knife, a screwdriver, a hammer.

In order to protect yourself and others, you should follow these recommendations.

1. When cracking a nut with a hammer, you can use not only the bag. The fruit wrapped in a towel is easier to keep on the work surface. For the same purposes, a cling film is suitable, which wraps coconut several times. In this case, it is necessary to leave a tail of polyethylene for better fixation.
2. Eyes should be protected from possible small fragments.
3. Do not try to cut the shell with the sharp side of the knife. The blade may slip.
4. When piercing the eyes with an awl or a screwdriver, the fetus should be fixed, you can ask another person to help.
5. Do not crack a nut in the presence of small children. A random fragment can cause serious injury.

When eating coconut, you should pay attention to these recommendations.

1. Drain liquid before opening.
2. After damage to the skin, for example, to extract milk, the nut is considered opened. It must be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of plus five degrees for no longer than 48 hours.
3. The removed pulp dries quickly, for storage in the refrigerator it can be filled with water.
4. Whole nuts keep up to three months.
5. Coconut milk can be frozen in ice cube trays and stored that way for up to three months. It can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
6. To prepare coconut flakes, the pulp should be rubbed on a grater and dried in the oven at a low temperature - up to 50 degrees.

The walnut shell is quite strong and durable. If the nut is split in two, the peel can be used in interesting ways. There are a large number of children's crafts with its use.

It can be used as a candlestick, an unusual box, a glass for pencils. If the house has an aquarium, then the parts of the shell will be a great home for fish. Its structure does not change the composition and chemical parameters of water.

In the same role, it is suitable for other small pets. Gardeners can use the shell of the nut as small pots for flowers or strawberries.

Conclusion

The hard shell of coconut should not be a barrier for those who want to enjoy a refreshing and healthy content. The main thing is to follow the safety rules, then the process of opening the shell will not take much time and effort.

In southern countries, a special tool is used, but this can be done without it. To preserve the milk and pulp for which this product is bought, it is necessary to follow the instructions. It is worth carving only after the juice is drained. Drink and eat the contents on the same day. Do not store open coconut in the refrigerator, it will spoil quickly.

How to open a coconut at home

Even without any experience, anyone can cope with the task. The following home craftsman's tools will help you easily open a coconut:

• hammer;
• drill;
• hacksaw.

If there is at least one listed item, then opening the shell will not be difficult even at home. Put the fruit on a towel while cutting, then it will not slide on the table. Wash the peel thoroughly and you can start, but be careful, because the tool easily jumps off the surface, and this leads to injury.

How to open a coconut

It is necessary to cut the coconut so that the milk inside the fruit does not spill. The technology is simple: on one side of the fruit there are dark dots - the pores leading to the seed, which are the most vulnerable spot. Use a corkscrew, drill, or hammer and nail to make holes in these areas. When you hear the sound of a soda bottle being opened, drain or insert a straw and drink straight from the coconut.

How to crack a coconut

The hard shell of the fetus can be broken or split. To choose the right method, be guided by the tools that you have and the purpose for which you plan to use the pulp. Coconut has a weak point, which can be identified by a thin raised crease in the middle or slightly towards the dark points. In this place it is worth applying force. So, how to quickly open a coconut:

1. A little noisy, but always effective. Suitable if you need only the pulp, and the appearance does not matter. Wrap the fruit in a towel, hit the coconut with a hammer. The shell will break, allowing the pulp to be removed.
2. Take a sharp knife and stab gently. It is best to keep the nut on weight. Turn slightly and repeat the movement. When a crack appears, you need to insert a blade there and cut the coconut into two even halves. You can use a hacksaw.

Despite the fact that coconut is a fairly popular attribute of the festive table, not everyone manages to open it the first time. If you do not know which side to approach a nut bought in a store, the following instructions will help you.

Based on the arsenal of tools that you have at home, you will be able to choose the most suitable option for opening a coconut.

smash with a hammer

If there are knitting needles in the house, before opening the coconut, it is necessary to pierce the “eyes” of the nut with them to the very core. For lack of knitting needles, you can use an awl or a fruit peeler with a thin end. Then drain the “milk” through the resulting holes.

As soon as the coconut is completely empty, it must be placed on a wooden surface (preferably on a stool or chair), take a hammer and hit with a sharp end, aiming at the very middle of the fruit. It is better to beat with moderate effort, holding the coconut with the other hand.

If it didn’t work out the first time to break the coconut, then the next blow should be applied a little harder. When the nut shell cracks from a blow with a hammer, you need to take a medium-sized sharp knife and carefully “cut” the nut with it.

If the coconut is not intended to be used to decorate the table in the future, then the knife can not be used. It is enough to break it with a hammer into small pieces and then separate the pulp from the shell.

You will learn another way to easily open a coconut by watching the video.

Clean with a kitchen knife

At home, you can open a coconut with an ordinary knife with a heavy handle. To do this, you need to make deep notches along the “equator line” of the coconut with the tip of a knife, and then try to cut the shell along the already prepared marks with it.

If everything was done correctly, and the coconut still does not open, it should be carefully tossed so that the impact on a hard surface falls on the cut. At the moment of impact, the nut should split into 2 parts.

After the coconut is opened, it is necessary to clean it from the shell fibers, and even better - rinse well with water. The thing is that bugs are often planted in coconut fibers, which, when cutting coconut, can get on the edible pulp.

With a screwdriver

Men who have a screwdriver at home can easily open a coconut without damaging the pulp of the fruit.

To do this, it is necessary to drill holes in it at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other according to the following scheme:

• clearly along the "equator" line (if you want to end up with two equivalent halves of a coconut with smooth edges);
• along the "equator" in a checkerboard pattern (if, in accordance with the idea, the edges of the coconut should be sharp).

Once the necessary holes have been drilled, the next step is to crack open the coconut shell. Then you can finally open the coconut with a regular knife according to the previously proposed scheme.

How to make a cocktail glass out of a coconut?

If you plan to use the coconut in the future as a cocktail glass, then when you open it, you will only need to cut off the very top. Coconut milk must first be removed from the nut. This can be done easily through the special "eyes" in the coconut, breaking through them with any sharp object.

After the milk has been drained, visually determine where the cut line will pass, and carefully cut the shell along it with a knife (or make several holes with a nail and hammer). The last action will be a strong blow to the "intended" area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe nut with the butt of a hammer. After that, the top will have to separate from the base of the coconut.

Before pouring a cocktail into the resulting container, you should clean the coconut from the fibers under running water. Before serving, a tube is placed in the finished cocktail and decorated with an umbrella or a toothpick with fruit slices - an exotic drink is ready!

How to make a cocktail in a whole coconut?

If coconut milk is planned to be used as one of the components of a cocktail, then the coconut can not be broken or cut off the top, but mixed inside it with the necessary liquids using a cooking syringe.

To do this, it is necessary to make a hole in one of the "eyes" of the coconut with a sharp object so that the tube eventually fits into it.
This method of preparing a cocktail allows you to maximize the protection of the internal contents of the nut from the ingress of shell fibers.