One of the joys in French Polynesia is the abundance of coconuts. On March 28th I talked a bit about a gizmo I assembled that allowed me to harvest green coconuts from shorter palm trees. Today let’s focus more on how they ripen, what to expect when opening various coconuts, and coconut opening techniques.
Recently we gathered coconuts in various stages of ripeness. Some brownie/gray ones that still had a little water inside, as one can determine by shaking the coconut by your ear. If you don’t hear some sloshing around, toss it away as it’s probably too far gone. Our pals John and Becca on SV Halcyon taught us that the ones that are kind of a nice golden brown are at the peak stage of ripeness, perfect for both coconut water and flesh. If they’re a little too far along and bordering more on gray outside, the flesh will taste a little bit oilier and there might be the beginnings of a coconut palm sprout growing inside. This little dumpling looks a bit spherical and can be as small as a golf ball or as large as the entire volume that was formerly filled with coconut water. John says it’s considered to be a delicacy, and the flesh does taste lovely. The ones that are a nice greenie-goldie-brownie color have lovely flesh, sweeter and not noticeably oily in taste. The shell is easier to crack open and the flesh comes off the shell easier.
Husking a flesh coconut is easy if friendly local islanders live nearby. Pretty much every house has a great big metal stake driven into the ground, the upper tip bent and slightly sharpened into a flat chisel shape. Ask then nicely and they’ll generally let you use their coconut opening machine, even providing a demonstration of the proper technique. That’s as much to show you what NOT to do as to how to be efficient. Improper technique can lead to serious injury including bruised or cracked ribs. John is happy to hack away at the coconut husks with a machete. Odds are pretty good that I’d eventually remove some of my own fingers using John’s technique.
We recently gathered some coconuts in various stages of ripeness. After pondering my navel, I realized I had something on board that might help husk a coconut while not hurting myself. I purchased mine at Harbor Freight, an oscillating tool that is often referred to as a “fine tool”. It can be equipped with a variety of blades and is excellent for cutting thin metal, fiberglass, and wood. A triangular sanding attachment allows the user to get into tight spots. Doesn’t use much power so no problem with the inverter. It’s also small and easily stored. I had a 1” wide wood cutting blade that melts right through the coconut husks. It takes a couple of minutes to put about 5 longitudinal slices from end to end on a coconut, then I use a large screwdriver to pry the husk sections off. Clean the resulting coconut up a bit to get rid of most of the fiber, then us a small ballpeen hammer to whack on the coconut around its equator until it cracks in half. Conduct that operation over a 2-liter bowl to capture the water, then once I’ve got two halves I’m ready to proceed with my oyster knife, prying the flesh out of the shell while resting the coconut shell on the cutting board. Haven’t stabbed myself yet.
We’ve learned to husk and open the coconuts as we need them, as husked coconuts in this environment will eventually crack open on their own. If you don’t nice that pretty quickly rot will begin inside. If I see any sign of decay once opening a cracked one, it goes over the side. It’s not yet clear to me whether a green coconut harvested off a tree will continue to ripen, and whether lying in the sun or in shade will make a difference in that process. Perhaps someone can Wikipedia that and send me more info, text only please to WDG9444@SAILMAIL.COM.
Coconuts are yummy and enhance many of our meals. Flesh for snacking or in various dishes, milk rendered from the flesh in other dishes. We’re living large out here!
No comments:
Post a Comment