How to Peel a Coconut: The Easy Way, Using a Knife, Hammer, Corkscrew or Hand Saw + Heat and Freeze Methods

How to choose a quality coconut

In order to bring a really high-quality and ripe fruit from the supermarket, it is important to follow some rules when choosing:

1. Look carefully. The shell should not have dents, holes, cracks and rotten areas. If there are any, it will be quite easy to recognize them – “milk” will flow from the coconut.
2. Shake lightly. The liquid does not occupy the entire volume of the coconut, so its presence will be clearly audible. If there are no sounds, the coconut is most likely dry inside.
3. Smell. Even through a thick layer of the shell, a light fresh aroma will be felt. If there is an unpleasant smell mixed with rot, it is better to refrain from buying.
4. Examine the “eyes”. Three characteristic dents on the side of the coconut should be clean, without mold, rotted areas. Attention should also be paid to the color of this place – the shell here, as a rule, is a little darker.

Video “How to properly and quickly peel a coconut”

This video will show you how to peel a coconut at home.

How to peel a coconut

Proper cleaning of a coconut is of fundamental importance for its further use in food. After all, if the fruit is carelessly split into two parts, the so-called coconut milk, which for many is considered the main delicacy, can spill.

An easy way to peel a shell

If there were absolutely no tools at hand at home, and you want to enjoy a tropical fruit, you can resort to the simplest cleaning method. To do this, you need to find the “seams”. Carefully, but with effort, they must be applied to any corner (table, cabinet) and slightly pressed. Such manipulations should be carried out until the fetus itself splits.

Cleaning with a knife

For this method, you need to prepare the largest knife. Coconut should be placed in a deep container, as juice will flow from the fruit. So, on a coconut, you need to find the junction of the two halves and set the knife edge there. The knife should be slowly but strongly pressed into the “seam” and tapped, and the fruit should be gently scrolled in the hands. This procedure must be continued until the fruit splits. This method is quite traumatic.

Using a corkscrew, hammer and hand saw

To properly and quickly peel a coconut, you can use a tool that is found in every home, such as a corkscrew, hammer, saw.

So, first you need to drain the “milk” contained in the fetus. For this you need a corkscrew. It should be slowly and carefully screwed into the shell. From the hole formed, the contents of the coconut must be poured into a previously prepared container.

Next, you need to split the coconut. An ordinary hammer will help with this. They need to lightly tap on the entire surface of the fetus. Particular attention should be paid to the place where the corkscrew is screwed in, because it is there that it will be easier to make a crack. After its appearance, dividing the fetus into two halves is not difficult.

If just peeling a coconut is not enough, but you also need to keep it in a presentable form, you can resort to using a hand saw. It should be applied to the junction of the two halves, slightly pressed and slowly begin to saw the shell in two. In this process, the main thing is not to rush so that the sawing line is even.

Using the listed tools, you must follow all the necessary safety measures.

During the procedure, there should not be children nearby, because the coconut shell during the cleaning process can bounce, injuring the child.

Methods for heating and freezing nuts

To clean a coconut, it is not necessary to use any improvised items. You can refer to the method of heating and freezing. Before carrying out this procedure, it is important to make a hole in the coconut through which the liquid must be drained. If this step is neglected, the fetus may simply explode.

The method consists in a sharp change in temperature, which will inevitably lead to the appearance of cracks on the shell. To begin with, the fruit must be sent for 20 minutes in a hot oven, and then for the same time in the freezer. After that, the coconut should be lightly tapped. As a rule, very soon cracks will begin to form on its surface.

How to split a young fruit

The shell of a young coconut is much softer and more pliable. Therefore, it will not be difficult to clean a freshly ripened tropical nut.

First you need to make a small hole through which you need to pour the coconut milk. Next, on the shell, you should find the so-called eyes, from which you need to measure 2-3 fingers. This place is considered the most vulnerable, so it is in this area that you need to strike a good blow. The blunt side of the knife is perfect for this. The same blow should be delivered from the opposite side. Thus, you will get an even and neat cut.

Terms and conditions of storage

When buying a coconut in a supermarket, it is important to understand that its shelf life depends not only on the conditions in the apartment. Much depends on the conditions in which it was transported, how long it lay on the counter. The degree of its ripeness is also important. An overripe or spoiled coconut will definitely not last long at home.

The cut product can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The temperature must be at least 4 °C. Low temperatures adversely affect the nutritional quality of the fruit, so a long stay in the cold will destroy the specific taste. Too high temperatures, in turn, will provoke decay processes.

Touching upon the issue of storing a tropical fruit, it is worth touching on the topic of commodity neighborhood. Placing a coconut next to bananas or apples will significantly speed up the deterioration of the coconut, because these fruits are considered to be a kind of catalyst in the process of fruit ripening.

To properly store a peeled coconut, it should be poured with cold water. This will preserve the unique taste and color of the pulp as much as possible.

Coconut is a rather insidious fruit, because in order to enjoy the fresh pulp, you will have to work hard to clean the hard shell. However, knowing the listed methods, you can spend a minimum of time cleaning a tropical fruit.