Learn what to do with a coconut! How to open it, collect coconut water, release the meat and turn it into shredded coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, and coconut flour.
Have you ever looked at whole fresh coconuts in the grocery store and wondered what to do with them?
A whole LOT actually!
But if you have never done it before, just the thought of opening a coconut may seem daunting. This post will show you though how simple it can be to open a coconut and to get coconut water and coconut meat in the process.
The meat can then be turned into shredded coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, and coconut flour. We'll show you how to do ALL of those things.
How to get Coconut Water
Start by finding the 3 eyes on one side of the coconut. 1 eye looks a little different from the other 2.
This one is usually the softest and easiest to open. Use a sharp pointy knife or a screwdriver to open the eye. If needed, use a hammer or mallet to push the screwdriver through the eye.
Once the eye is open, invert the coconut over a cup and let the fresh coconut water drain out. Strain the coconut water through a sieve if little pieces of fiber from the coconut husk or shell pieces fell into the water.
Enjoy the coconut water as is with ice or use it in smoothies or other recipes.
How to open a Coconut
To open the drained coconut preheat your oven to 400°F. Place the empty coconut in the oven for about 10 minutes.
DON'T do this with a full coconut! The water inside will pressurize and might cause the coconut to explode.
After 10 minutes the coconut shell should have developed several cracks along the outside. If not, leave it in the oven a little longer until you see those cracks.
Wrap the cracked coconut in a tea towel and hit it with a hammer or mallet until it breaks in half. Rewrap 1 half and keep hitting it to break into smaller pieces.
The hard shell might remove from the meat in this process. If not, insert a butter knife between the shell and meat to loosen the meat.
How to make Shredded Coconut
To make pure white shredded coconut use a vegetable peeler to remove the brown skin from the outside of the coconut meat. If the optics don't matter to you, you can also leave the skin intact. It is totally fine to eat.
Use a box grater to grate the coconut meat into shredded coconut. The smallest side will make the finest shreds. You can also use the other sides to make coarser shreds or coconut chips even.
Place the grated coconut on a baking sheet and dehydrate it in the oven at the lowest temperature possible with the door cracked open. Be sure not to burn or toast the shredded coconut, unless the toasty flavor and colour is what you are going for.
You can also use a dehydrator for this process, if you have one.
How to Make Coconut Butter
Shredded coconut or coconut chips can be ground down into coconut butter, just like it takes nothing but peanuts to make natural peanut butter.
See my detailed post about coconut butter here.
How to make Coconut Milk
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You can use shredded coconut or coconut meat pieces to make coconut milk.
Find the full recipe for homemade coconut milk HERE.
How to Make Coconut Flour
Use the leftover coconut pulp from the coconut milk making process to make coconut flour.
Spread the pulp on a baking sheet and dehydrate it in the oven on the lowest heat with the door cracked open. Or use a dehydrator if you have one.
Once the pulp has dried, grind it into a fine flour using a coffee grinder or spice mill. Use your homemade coconut flour in any of my coconut flour recipes.
Recipe
What to do with a coconut
Ingredients
- 1 fresh whole coconut
Instructions
Coconut Water
- Find the 3 eyes of the coconut. One of the eyes looks a little different from the other 2 - this one is easiest to open, but you can open the coconut from any eye.
- Insert a screwdriver or sharp knife into the eye. If needed, use the help of a hammer or mallet to break the screwdriver through the coconut shell to fully open the eye
- Invert the coconut over a glass and let the coconut water drip out. If needed, strain the coconut water through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove any coconut fibers or pieces of shell that may have fallen into the coconut water.
- Enjoy the coconut water with ice as is or use in smoothies or for cooking.
How to open a coconut
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Place the drained coconut into the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the shell develops cracks along the outside.
- Cover the cracked coconut with a kitchen towel. Using a hammer or mallet hit the coconut along the crack until it breaks in half.
How to Remove the Coconut Meat
- Rewrap one half of the coconut, and continue hitting it until it breaks into a few more pieces.
- Often the coconut shell pieces will remove from the meat in the process. Any remaining pieces of coconut meat can be loosened from the shell by inserting a butter knife between shell and meat.
- The brown skin on the meat is edible and can be left on. But if you want to make pure white shredded coconut and coconut milk, use a vegetable peeler to remove that brown skin.
How to Make Shredded Coconut
- Use a box grater to grate the coconut meat pieces into shredded coconut.
- I like to use the smallest side for regular shredded coconut. You can use the other sides for coarser shreds or coconut chips.
- Spread the shredded coconut on a baking sheet and place it in the oven on the lowest heat setting with the oven door cracked open.
- You only want to dry/dehydrate the shredded coconut, not toast it (unless toasted coconut is what you are going for). The dried shredded coconut can be stored and used for toppings.
How to make coconut butter
- I wrote a detailed post about how to make coconut butter HERE.
How to Make Coconut Milk
- Full instructions for homemade coconut milk
How to Make Coconut Flour
- Spread the pulp that is left over from making coconut milk onto a baking sheet. Dehydrate/dry in the oven on lowest heat setting with door cracked open.
- Grind the dried pulp into a fine coconut flour using a coffee grinder or spice mill.
Pin Coconut ideas for later?
Random Questions
Fresh coconut can be used to extract coconut water, meat for various preparations like shredded coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, and coconut flour.
To prepare a coconut, first open it to collect the coconut water. Then crack the coconut open, remove the meat, and process it into desired forms like shredded coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, or coconut flour.
Coconuts can be utilized for extracting coconut water, making shredded coconut, coconut butter, coconut milk, and coconut flour. These versatile ingredients can be used in various recipes and preparations.
Coconut remains, such as the leftover pulp after making coconut milk, can be dehydrated and ground into coconut flour, which can be used in baking or cooking as a gluten-free alternative.
Erin Chicken
all my (coco)nutty dreams! perfect for a (coco) nut lover like myself 🙂
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
I'm so glad you approve, Erin! 🙂
Si walton
Great advice, I lived in Thailand over the last 30 years and there we all use a little stool with a grater on the end and grate each half into a bowl. Much easier, I live in Vegas and had left mine in England, found one in local Asian grocery and another in my local Thai store so hopefully easy to get.
Going g to make a twist on your banana muffin recipe - great inspiration thanks Simon
Jennifer @ Leelalicious
Thank you for your comment! 🙂