Episode 43 – How Do You Open A Coconut In Hawaii?

Hi Chef Todd,
I grew up in Hawaii, have peeled many coconuts…
did you know that the coconut water was used in the war for a substitute for IV Saline!

never heard of bad juice (unless the coconut was old and spoiled)

Thanks for the great video, brought back many memories.
Henry

This was so informative. I made a coconut cake from scratch one and because of the prep of a coconut I haven’t made one since now I can enjoy making the cake again and will try other things.She made it look so simple. Thanks again Betty DeMeo

Hello Chef Todd. So far, I have never had any problems with drinking Buko Juice (coconut juice). It’s my favorite guilt-free drink when I want to quench my thirst. The green coconut is actually the “Buko” and it’s the safest to drink. Yes, even the ones from the coconut vendors down the street are safe. As long as the juice is from the fruit itself (the green coconut), i can always let the coconut vendor open it slightly, insert the straw, and voila! i already have my guilt free drink, super fresh right from the shell And when im done with drinking, i can have it opened wide, then I’ll enjoy the coconut meat

Todd, I’ve never had any problems with what the street vendors have here, but I’ve never paid attention that closely. Maybe Carla will have more experience with that.

BTW, One local company (“Link”) bottles an “Agua de Coco” (“Coconut water”) soda that is amazing.

Here in the Philippines, we call the coconut tree as “The Tree of Life”, because it has a lot of purpose from its roots to fruits. Really,it’s an understatement, especially now that virgin coconut oil and coconut sugar is at it’s peak fame. Even young coconut meat which we call “macapuno” is very popular for local desserts and it even has its own ice cream flavor. Local street vendors also sell Buko juice (people will drink the juice right from the fruit itself), and big companies have already managed to package the juice commercially, and it’s a favorite drink among health-conscious people (preferred over the soda).

We have a song about coconuts which was made popular in the early 1990′s sung by the Smokey Mountain. It’s called “The Coconut Song”, more famous as “Da Coconut Nut”. It’s actually a fun song, you can listen to the song here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dx8QlTi1QY (by The Smokey Mountain)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxFoefBWJ9U&feature=related (Acapella version by the San Miguel Choir)

I must note though, Filipinos don’t normally sing or speak the way the singer sang the song. No pun intended, no offense meant, he sang that way in order to have a tropical vibe )

Just in case it’s hard to understand, here are the lyrics:

The coconut nut is a giant nut
If you eat too much, you’ll get very fat
Now, the coconut nut is a big, big nut
But this delicious nut is not a nut

Chorus:
It’s the coco fruit (it’s the coco fruit)
Of the coco tree (of the coco tree)
From the coco palm family

There are so many uses of the coconut tree
You can build a big house for the family
All you need is to find a coconut man
If he cuts the tree, he gets the fruit free (repeat chorus)

The coconut bark for the kitchen floor
If you save some of it, you can build the door
Now, the coconut trunk, do not throw this junk
If you save some of it, you’ll have a second floor

The coconut wood is very good
It can stand 20 years if you pray it would
Now, the coconut fruit, to tell you the truth
You can throw it or use it as firewood

The coconut leaves, good shade it gives
For the roof, for the walls up against the thieves
Now, the coconut fruit, say my relatives
Make good cannonballs up against the thieves

Here in Honduras, street vendors have custom-made “bicycles” equipped with ice-filled coolers. When you buy a coconut from them, they take off a small amount of it with a machete, stick a straw into it and you drink the coconut water with the straw. Afterward, if you wish,you hand it back to them and they use the machete to cut it in half so you can dig out the meat. With the coconuts we have here, that’s usually easy enough to do with a spoon.

One coconut from such a vendor, costs about U.S. 53 cents..