It is very easy to become a lover of tropical exotic fruits. You only have to try once, for example, real coconut milk or the pulp that melts in your mouth, which is located under a hard peel - “gourmet mania” is guaranteed! For lovers of bananas, oranges or kiwis, it is much easier to be content with delicacies - just peel off the peel. But not everyone knows, especially if there are no special devices at hand. This is what will be discussed in this article.
How to properly break a coconut to preserve delicious milk?
Before dividing the nut into pieces, you need to drain the liquid inside. Usually, for this purpose, holes are punched in the dent on one of the ends of the fruit. As a rule, no special labor or effort is required here. Just press it inside with some hard object - and the improvised milk watering can is ready. But not everyone is able to make a hole and extract juice without loss. Then you have to start splitting the whole fruit. To collect milk as carefully as possible, you can do one of the following:
Holding the nut in the palm of your hand, place a wide cup under your hand, into which the milk will flow after cracking the fruit;
Place the coconut in a plastic bag and tie it tightly - this will create a miracle container in which the milk will collect.
Break the nut after draining the liquid
Let's say that the stage of obtaining coconut milk was successful. Now you can safely start breaking the nut. To do this, it is better to use a wide and fairly heavy hatchet sword as the most successful weapon (photo 3). First apply a cross mark to the nut with the sharp side. Then wrap the scalloped edge around the coconut. How to break a coconut quickly and safely? The important condition is not the force of the blow on the nut, but sharpness and clarity. It is because of the jerky dissection that the peel will split. Such a small crack will be enough to divide the nut into two parts, spreading them apart with your hands. For greater convenience, if milk is drained through the hole, place the fruit firmly on a firm surface and only then proceed. It is worth remembering that using sharp objects is very dangerous, because they can jump off onto the hand with which you are holding the nut. Therefore, they often prefer safer methods, especially if they do not know how to break a coconut at home.
Below are some unusual ways of dividing a coconut and useful, sort of secret, tips.
What other ways are there to divide a nut into pieces? If you can’t punch holes in a dense shell with ordinary sharp objects, an electric drill will come to the rescue. First, drill one hole at the end to drain the milk, and then several more (with a smaller diameter) along a previously marked transverse line. The distance between the points should be no more than 1.5-2 cm from each other. After this, apply a sharp blow to the marks with a sharp object (hatchet or heavy knife) - and the nut will immediately split into pieces. Is it possible and how to break a coconut without a hammer and other equipment? Try an unusual method that involves short-term heat treatment of the fruit.
Opening a coconut with your bare hands: secrets
It turns out that there is a fairly simple but effective way to divide a nut into two halves. And you don’t need any equipment for this. It's all about pre-processing the coconut. You just need to warm it up, after which the shell will spontaneously or under slight tapping give an initial crack. So, turn your broiler on to medium heat. Place the nut on the rack and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Similar heating can be done using a microwave oven. But at the same time, the coconut must be without milk. Place the warm fruit on a wooden board and apply a light tapping blow. The coconut will crack easily. After pressing on the burst area, the nut will crack. The originality of the idea is that you shouldn’t turn off the oven. Its thermal properties are also useful for processing the fleshy part of the fruit.
Let's feast on the pulp
How to remove the hard top layer and make the mass under the shell softer? It has its own special secrets. An oven or microwave, which have already been used previously to open the fruit, can serve as an assistant for this. Place the halves there and reheat. After heat treatment, the peel will easily separate from the pulp in the form of a single layer. And the internal aromatic mass will become much softer. Chop it into cubes and safely serve!
So, put into practice all the tips you have received, and you will not have any problems with how to break a coconut. And then dividing a nut into parts will become as easy as cracking seeds. Enjoy this tropical delicacy for your health!
This article is for those who want to know how to open a coconut, and also what this coconut can be used for, what to cook from it. In fact, opening a coconut at home can be very simple and quick. And it is not at all necessary to chase the long-suffering nut around the apartment with an ax, causing damage to the floor and furniture. Now, if you need coconut juice, coconut milk or oil, or coconut flakes for cooking, I’m sure it will be easier to open a coconut yourself than to look for these products in stores. In addition, it will turn out cheaper, tastier and healthier.
- First, let's find out how to choose a coconut? You need to carefully examine it: there should be no cracks, damage or mold either on the shell or near the “eyes”. It’s good if the coconut is quite large and heavy, and if you shake it, liquid splashes inside. If you can’t hear the splashing of liquid, most likely the coconut was damaged during transportation, and coconut water (coconut juice) leaked out of it, and the nut itself is spoiled: such a coconut is not worth buying. By the way, the lighter the coconut, the younger it is. It will contain more coconut juice and the juice will taste better.
- Now let's find out how to open a coconut? We find three small indentations on the coconut - “eyes”.
- Using a knife, corkscrew or clean screwdriver, make a hole in one of the “eyes”. One of them is very thin and can be pierced easily; as a rule, it is located closer to the center than the others.
- Then pour the liquid from the coconut into a bowl or glass. This is coconut juice (or coconut water). You can drink this juice right away. If the coconut is good, then the coconut water should have a fresh, pleasant taste and aroma.
- How to open the coconut itself? Method 1. Holding the coconut firmly in your hand, hit the middle of the coconut (equator) with the blunt side of a heavy knife or the sharp side of a hammer. or at a height of 1/3 from the top with “eyes”. Don't hit too hard, constantly turning the coconut in a circle.
- After a few blows the nut will crack, you can open the coconut and split it into two halves.
- Method 2. Preheat the oven to 200º. Drain the juice from the coconut and place it in a hot oven for 15 minutes. The coconut skin will crack on its own due to the temperature. When removing the nut from the oven, use oven mitts or a towel. Now the nut can be easily divided into pieces. If necessary, you can hit it lightly with a hammer - this will help separate the larger half of the shell into pieces.
- Using a knife with a round end, we pry up the white flesh of the coconut and try to separate it from the hard shell. To do this, run a knife around the perimeter; the pulp should separate from the shell. Alternatively, the pulp right inside the shell can be cut into slices and removed.
- You can use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to remove the brown skin from the pulp.
- The shelled coconut can be cut into smaller pieces. Coconut meat can be simply eaten or cooked from it.
It doesn’t matter why a coconut appeared in your home - whether it’s a gift from fate or your own whim, but something needs to be done with it. Despite its rather harsh appearance, opening a nut is not such a difficult task if you know which side to approach it from.
How to crack a coconut
Of course, this nut is an exotic fruit and not familiar to everyone. But that doesn't mean we can't deal with it.
The fruit of the coconut tree is more correctly called a drupe rather than a nut.
To cut a coconut into a nut, we must stock up on the necessary tools and follow a certain sequence of actions.
Preparing inventory
We will need:
- hammer;
- nail or screwdriver;
- large knife or hatchet;
- cup;
- towel.
Don't be intimidated by the abundance of items listed. Some of them are interchangeable and are indicated in case another item is not at hand. Which tool you use depends on how you open the nut.
Drain the juice
There are three dark spots on one of the “poles” of the nut. It will be easier to make a hole in these places.
Coconut water is often mistakenly called "milk". In fact, coconut water (juice) and coconut milk are two different things. Water is what is inside the nut, and the so-called coconut milk is obtained from crushed pulp with the addition of water.
You need to choose the softest spot and make a hole in it with a nail or screwdriver
- Place the coconut on a towel to prevent it from sliding on the table.
- Place a nail on one of the marks and hit it with a hammer. Calculate the force of the blow! If you overdo it, you'll end up with a hammered nail rather than a hole.
- Make two holes to make it easier for the coconut water to pour out, and tip the nut over the glass.
Do not count on a full glass of juice; there is not much of it in a ripe (brown) nut.
Breaking a nut with your bare hands
It’s hard to imagine a Papuan walking under the palm trees with a carpenter’s kit. Coconuts have been eaten since time immemorial, which means that there are some “primitive” ways to present the sweet flesh to the world.
The easiest way to open a nut if you have nothing but your own hands is to hit it hard on a hard surface. For example, against a concrete wall. The “right hook” will have the desired effect if you aim: hold the nut so that the blow falls on the most convex part of the “equator” of the nut. As a rule, one decent blow is enough for a crack to appear. The disadvantage of this method is that if the gap is too small, you will not be able to simply break the nut into two halves with your hands and will have to repeat the maneuver. And if you are so strong that you simply smash a coconut against the wall, then you will not be able to enjoy the coconut juice - it will leak out.
How to open a coconut with a knife
If you have at least a knife, then this greatly simplifies the matter. It is advisable that it be a solid tool that inspires respect, for example, a cleaver knife, a hunting knife or a “chef’s knife.” With its help, you can cut a coconut in at least two ways.
Opening through a hole
If you have already made two holes in the shell and drained the juice, feel free to start cutting using the existing holes.
- We insert the knife into one of the holes with the tip.
- We hit the handle several times. This can be done with a hammer, or just with a fist.
This method guarantees that the nut will crack, but does not guarantee the symmetry of the resulting parts.
Video: cutting with a knife through a hole
Using a knife on the edge of a coconut
This method is used to open “full” nuts with juice inside. First of all, evaluate the “exterior” of the knife and determine what is heavier, the blade or the handle. The sharpness does not matter, because we will be tapping the nut, not cutting it. If the knife blade is heavier, use the dull side. If the handle is heavier, then grab the knife by the blade.
- Find a natural break line approximately halfway down the nut. As you remember, this is the very place where the shell cracks the fastest.
- Act accurately and carefully: with one hand, hold the nut suspended and constantly rotate it around its axis, and with the other hand, tap along this line with the blunt side of the knife.
- As soon as a crack appears, insert a knife blade into it and slightly push the shell apart.
- Pour the juice into a glass.
- Now unseal the nut using the knife more decisively.
Video: how to split a shell into two equal halves
How to open a green drinking coconut
Green fruits are unripe nuts that have not yet had time to “ripen.” In terms of the thickness of the peel, they are somewhat reminiscent of a pumpkin, which means that the green nut can be easily handled with a kitchen knife. Simply cut off one of the coconut poles like a “lid” and enjoy!
Green coconut juice reduces appetite, normalizes digestion, blood glucose levels, thyroid function and metabolism
Coconut water is low in calories, quenches thirst, helps get rid of bladder infections and restores physical strength after intense exercise.
Safety precautions when opening a nut
Despite the fact that it is not difficult to handle a coconut, still be careful when using sharp, piercing, or cutting objects. When using a hammer, try to protect your fingers. By the way, if, of all the ways to open a coconut, you just decide to hit it with a hammer wherever you have to, then before doing this, put it in a plastic bag so as not to later look for scattered pieces throughout the kitchen.
Cleaning tough skins and extracting pulp
Extraction of pulp will go faster if you take into account the following rule: the more shells, the easier it is to do. Therefore, if you do not use any “life hacks”, then the most difficult thing will be to pick copra from those very perfect hemispheres that were discussed above.
Insert the blade of a knife between the shell and the edible part and separate a piece
The most primitive way to extract the pulp is as follows: insert a knife blade between the shell and the edible part, and, shaking the knife, separate a piece. Then another one. And one more thing. The main thing is not to rush anywhere.
This kind of meditation activity is not suitable for everyone. Things will go much faster if you use the following method:
We won't throw away the shells
If cutting a coconut was so impressive that you wanted to keep these exciting moments in your memory, make a souvenir from the shell. Most often, halves of nuts are used as a salt shaker, candlestick, plate for buttons, keys and other small items. If the shell is quite deep, then by turning it upside down, you will get an excellent eco-house for a hamster. Small and unsightly shards will serve as drainage for indoor flowers.
Photo gallery: decorative and household items made from coconut shells
Candlesticks made from coconut halves will decorate any occasion 
Coconut shell feeder is very environmentally friendly 
Box in the shape of an egg - almost Faberge 
Cacti in a coconut pot feel like home
Terms and methods of storing coconut
One nut, as a rule, is eaten right away, so the question of how to store it does not even arise. It’s another matter when, for some reason, you have what is called “stacks” of these coconuts. Whole nuts will keep in a cool place for up to three weeks. But if you don’t work in the very store where you happened to stock up on coconuts, then you have no way of knowing how long they had already been on the shelf before you were tempted by them.
Important! When buying a coconut, shake it near your ear: you will hear a noticeable splash of juice. If this sound is not present, there is a high probability of running into a stale, drying fruit.
Store the opened coconut in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, as long as it remains in the shell. It is not recommended to store coconut juice. Microbes multiply quickly in a sweetish liquid, so it would be wiser to drink it right away.
- Pour boiled water over the pulp so that it does not dry out. The lifespan of “soaked coconut” in the refrigerator is 2–3 days;
- Place the peeled coconut meat in the freezer. In this form, she can wait for her fate for several months;
- Grind and dry the coconut, put it in a bag and use the shavings throughout the year. Store in a dry place.
Not everyone can pick a nut from such a height
Interesting: in the south of Thailand, coconuts are collected with the help of trained monkeys. The animal climbs up, picks nuts, and when it comes down, it receives a treat from the worker.
The sweetness and aroma of fresh nuts is much brighter than processed ones. Buy the “symbol of heavenly life” immediately before eating and enjoy the fullest taste.
Coconut is a tropical nut that grows on a palm tree. It can be purchased from us at the market or in a store. If the product is already on your table, the question arises: how to open a coconut? This is not so simple, because the outer shell of the nut is a hard peel, similar to the bark of a tree. But don't worry that you won't get to taste it. You just need to know some rules for opening a coconut.
Opening a coconut at home is possible, but it will take some work. Don't get your hopes up by images from an advertisement or movie where a nut cracks with just a slight pressure and tapping. In real life it's not like that.
So, first we buy coconut. To do this, we go to a store or market. The main rule for choosing a product: if you shake it, you will hear the sound of shimmering milk. This indicates that it did not sit on the counter that long and the liquid did not have time to thicken. Accordingly, the more pulp and less milk there is in a coconut, the older it is. This does not mean that the product has expired. For certain purposes, a resting nut is better suited, for example, if you want to make your own coconut flakes (it is made from dried pulp). Another rule for choosing a quality product is that it should be heavy enough. This also indicates that it is still fresh.
Opening the nut
If you have chosen the best product, it’s time to answer the question: “How to open a coconut?” There are several ways, the most common is opening with a hammer, because this thing can be found in any home. So let's get started.
First, take the fruit in your hands and pay attention to the three small indentations. They are also called “eyes”. This is the nut's Achilles heel. They are easy to pierce with any sharp object. After the punctures are made, insert the tubes into them and you can drink the milk directly from the coconut or express it into another container. Now you know how to drink coconut.
Want to try the pulp too? Then let's move on! Take a hammer and hit it with the sharp side just below the blackheads. This is also quite a weak point. After two or three blows, cracks will appear on the fruit.
From now on, we proceed directly to cleaning the coconut. Just peel it off, helping yourself with a knife if necessary. After a few minutes, you will have a completely peeled coconut in your hands. So you have already completed all the steps before cutting the coconut.
Now take the knife in your hands again and cut the pulp into small pieces. A delicious tropical dessert is ready. But don’t get carried away with it, coconut is quite fatty, so it is not recommended to eat it in large portions.
There is another way to open a coconut at home. The first stage occurs in the same way: using a sharp object, black dots are broken through at the tip of the nut. Next, the milk is expressed. For further steps you will need an oven. It needs to be heated to 180 degrees, and then put the nut there for 20 minutes. During this time, under the influence of high temperature, the peel of the fruit itself will begin to burst. Once the nut has cooled, it can be easily peeled. This way you can open a coconut at home without much effort.
Even if everything didn’t go smoothly for you and it didn’t work out the first time, don’t be discouraged! With a little practice, you'll soon be able to easily open a coconut on your own. Like anything else, it takes a little practice, and that comes with practice. Coconut is an incredibly healthy and tasty product, so if you have the opportunity to consume it, be sure to take advantage of it. This product can be used to prepare many different dishes, from desserts to sauces for meat. With it, your body will receive a huge dose of vitamins and nutrients, and you will receive a boost of vigor and energy.
How to open a coconut: Video
Despite the fact that coconut is a fairly popular attribute of the holiday table, not everyone manages to open it the first time. If you don't know which side to approach a store-bought nut, the following instructions will help you.
Based on the arsenal of tools that you have at home, you can choose the most suitable option for opening a coconut.
Break with a hammer
If you have knitting needles in the house, before opening a coconut, you need to dig them through the “eyes” of the nut to the very core. In the absence of knitting needles, you can use an awl or a knife with a thin tip to peel fruit. Then pour the “milk” through the resulting holes.
Once the coconut is completely empty, you need to place it on a wooden surface (preferably on a stool or chair), take a hammer and hit it with the sharp end, aiming for the very middle of the fruit. It is better to hit with moderate force, holding the coconut with your other hand.
If you didn’t succeed in breaking the coconut the first time, then the next blow should be applied a little harder. When the nut shell cracks when hit with a hammer, you need to take a sharp, medium-sized knife and carefully “saw” the nut with it.
If the coconut is not intended to be used in the future to decorate the table, then you don’t need to use a knife. 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.
Peel with a kitchen knife
At home, you can open a coconut with a regular 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 saw the shell along the already prepared marks.
If everything was done correctly, but the coconut still did not open, it should be carefully tossed so that the impact on a hard surface lands on the cut site. At the moment of impact, the nut should split into 2 parts.
After the coconut is opened, it is necessary to clean it of shell fibers, or even better, rinse it well with water. The thing is that coconut fibers often contain bugs, which, when cutting the coconut, can get on the edible flesh.
Using a screwdriver
Men who have a screwdriver at home can easily open a coconut without damaging the flesh of the fruit.
To do this, you need to drill holes in it at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other according to the following pattern:
- clearly along the “equator” line (if you ultimately want to get two equal halves of a coconut with smooth edges);
- along the “equator” in a checkerboard pattern (if, in accordance with the plan, the edges of the coconut should be sharp).
Once the required holes have been drilled, the next step is to crack the coconut shell. Next, you can finally open the coconut using a regular knife according to the previously proposed scheme.
How to make a cocktail glass from a coconut?
If you plan to use the coconut in the future as a cocktail glass, then when opening it you will need to cut off only the very top. You should first remove the coconut milk from the nut. This can be done easily through special “eyes” in the coconut, piercing them with any sharp object.
After the milk has been drained, visually determine where the cut line will be 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 the nut with the butt of a hammer. After which, the top will have to separate from the base of the coconut.
Before pouring the cocktail into the resulting container, you should clean the coconut from fibers under running water. Before serving, place a straw in the finished cocktail and decorate it with an umbrella or a toothpick with fruit slices - the exotic drink is ready!
How to make a smoothie in a whole coconut?
If you plan to use coconut milk as one of the components of the cocktail, then you don’t have to break the coconut or cut off the top, but mix the necessary liquids inside it using a culinary syringe.
To do this, you need to make a hole in one of the “eyes” of the coconut with a sharp object in such a way that a tube will eventually fit into it.
This method of preparing a cocktail allows you to maximally protect the internal contents of the nut from the ingress of shell fibers.
