Jamaican Coconut Milk
01 Oct 2008
How to open a coconut
Most people are use to seeing brown hairy coconuts at their local supermarket. These pictures are what coconuts look like when they are fresh from the tree. When I first got to Jamaica the farmer that we stayed with brought us a big pile of fresh coconuts for us to drink and eat the coconut jelly. While the farmer and his staff can cut coconuts open with two swift cuts, it took about about 10-20 strokes and a big mess.
Two swift cuts opens a coconut.
Fresh Jamaican coconut milk taste like a flavored water. While the coconut milk is rich it does not have an overpowering taste, just a perfect taste. If you travel to Jamaica be sure to have a local cut open a coconut so you can give it a try.
Coconut milk is clear
3 Responses
2011 Apr 24
When a coconut is cut, the liquid that is inside is ” water”, coconut water. To get the milk from the coconut, the white kernel inside the shekk has to be taken out, grated, and plain water added to it. It is then mixed and squeezedthrough cloth or a strainer. The white liquid is the milk form the coconut. Ok?
2011 Apr 28
You are correct!
Question, is it still water when they remove the outer shell and let the inner shell dry which gives it a sweeter taste?
2011 Oct 13
The “outer shell” is called the husk…it is not a shell. Peeling away the husk exposes the hard inner “shell” which contains the “meat” or “kernel” and the “coconut water”.
To answer your question above…if the coconut is left on the tree until it ripens and “dry”…turning brown and shrivel looking… the fruit inside and, the water will more than likely be much sweeter than when picked fresh/green. Leaving the coconut out in the sun after it has been harvested, green, will not make it any “sweeter”. It can also go bad..rancid!