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Open a
Coconut & Make Coconut Flakes |
All About
How to Tint
How to Toast
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A fresh coconut offers sweet,
rich juice and luscious flesh, but they make you work for it. Those
dark-brown, hard outer shells are notoriously hard to open. |
TO BEGIN:
Choose a
good coconut: Fresh ones are at the
peak of season from October to December. Pick one that is heavy for its size,
and shake it -- you should hear liquid (juice) sloshing around.
TO OPEN A COCONUT &
DRAIN JUICE: Position a shelf in
the middle of the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Pierce one of the
three soft eyes at the top of the shell with the tip of a screw driver or an ice
pick, hitting hard on the end of its handle with a hammer. Immediately drain off
the juice in a container, if saving. Strain it to remove any flecks of shell.
Place the coconut on the middle rack in the oven and bake it until it cracks,
about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the coconut with hot mitts and let it cool
slightly. Remove the shell--it will come off easily. Peel the brown husk from
the coconut meat with a vegetable peeler, and chop the coconut meat into uniform
pieces. Use your food processor or a hand grater to shred or grate the coconut.
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Did you know that 1 medium coconut, weighing a pound or so, yields 3 cups of
shredded ? |
TO MAKE FRESH COCONUT FLAKES:
Using a small, sturdy knife, pry out the coconut meat from the shell. It will
come out in pieces, but try to keep them as large as possible. Using a swivel
vegetable peeler, peel the outer brown part from the coconut meat. Then, shred
it with a cheese grater (rotary or standing) or a food processor fitted with the
fine shredding blade.
TO MAKE COCONUT CURLS: With a vegetable peeler, shave a long piece
coconut from the side of the main, unshelled piece. You do not have to take off
the brown husk beforehand.
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