How to Crack a Coconut

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How to Crack a Coconut

Tough and unappealing exterior, sweet and nutritious interior for coconuts. They might be tough nuts to crack, but the process, which doesn’t take long, sure is worth it. Read this to find out how to crack a coconut and reap its health benefits!

Cracking a coconut always seemed so easy in the movies – you know the type: with heroes stranded on deserted islands, relying on coconut trees for sustenance. They hit the coconut lightly with a stone of some sort, then drink the nutritious liquid inside, and finally ate the white, flaky interior. Reality isn’t exactly like that.

But if you want to benefit from the healthy, nutritious coconut, you need not worry. You can easily learn how to crack one fruit without too much effort and enjoy it fresh. And the advantages for you and your health easily outweigh the strain.

According to plenty of studies, countries which consume a lot of coconuts have pretty good health. Raw coconut is rich in a type of fat which actually helps promote weight loss, per a study published in 2006, in the Ceylon Medical Journal. Coconut is rich in fiber – one cup of shredded coconut has about 7 grams, says the USDA National Nutrient Database. The meat of the nut is immunity-boosting and also loaded with minerals like manganese (1 cup has 60 percent of recommended daily value), copper, selenium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc.

Now that you know how good it is for you, find out how to crack a coconut and get to the goodies inside. It’s great for baking, cooking, and drinks!

How to crack a coconut in 9 steps

1. Choosing a fresh one

Check for expiration dates on it, you need it to be fresh! Then hold it up to your head and shake it a little. You’re looking for one where you hear the liquid moving inside. Also, look at the ends of the coconut and make sure no mold is in sight near the three indentions it has, also called “coconut eyes”.

2. Pierce the coconut

Use a sharp tool to pierce the coconut tough exterior right at its “eyes”. You can use a metallic skewer or even a screwdriver!

Take the tool and place it in one of the eyes and then hit it with something heavy and forceful, like a hammer. Or whatever works for you. Do that until you feel you have reached the liquid part on the inside.

Do that for all of the eyes, so the process’ next steps go even easier.

3. Drain the liquid

Transfer the liquid from inside the coconut in a bowl. You should taste-check it, make sure it’s sweet! You can drink the coconut water without reservations. You’ll find out it’s pretty good.

4. Preheat the oven

The next steps will require the use of your oven. So preheat it to about 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).

5. Bake!

Place the coconut on your oven rack, and keep it there for about 15 minutes. When that’s over, remove it and let it cool a little, so it doesn’t hurt your hands.

6. Crack it wide open

Hold it steady and place your skewer or screwdriver in one of the eyes again. This time, angle it so it reaches the side of the coconut. Then hit it with a hammer and it should crack. Now enlarge the crack so you can open the coconut.

7. Break it up

To get all the meat of the coconut, you will need to break it up into a few pieces, so your work will be easier.

8. Remove the meat

Remove the meat of the coconut with a knife and throw away the shell.

9. Grate the coconut meat!

Use a grater to turn your coconut meat into flakes. It depends on how large you want your pieces to be.

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