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Coconuts?

Okay, I’ve only tried coconuts twice, so maybe I just have bad luck, but here’s my story.

First time I got the brown kind… I guess they’re older. Anyway it was nasty and rank and REALLY turned me off. Then I learned about YOUNG coconuts and was like: well, DUH that was my problem!

So I go to Stop and Shop and get one there. Its a little mushy in places on the outside but I just figured that was from being jostled around.

I opened it, it was MUCH better… actually very nice. I didn’t dare try to drink it or eat anything on its own, I was afraid I might still be scarred from my first experience. So I mixed it in a smoothie, with some vanilla bean and cacao. It tasted decent, but after a VERY short time (like, MAYBE 5 minutes) it started to have a hint of that rank taste, like it was going bad. Do coconuts just spoil quickly or did I get one that was already bad? I’m afraid of trying it again because I do LOVE that coconut flavor but I can’t stand that taste/smell of when it goes bad… its nauseating.

I saved it and went back to it later… let my dad try it… There wasn’t much change. Still a little rancid (maybe somewhat more but not terrible), but it was mostly just in the aftertaste. It was still undrinkable though. I had to throw it out.

I’ve had coconut water before, in a drink (like the one you can buy at whole foods). It had lime in it (and who knows what else to make it taste good… I remember it was a good brand / had good ingredients when I bought it though, cause I’m good about that), and I loved it. I also love coconut shreds and stuff like that.

Any input as to what was going on? Or is that a normal thing that other people like and I just don’t like the taste? I want to enjoy some fresh coconut. :(

Comments

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    Was it purple on the inside? Was the water pink? That usually means it’s rotten. They usually don’t spoil very quickly at all.

  • You know, I can’t be sure, but from what I can remember it wasn’t off-color. It all looked white to me.

  • MT, if they’re purple and pink does that really mean they are rotten?? I always just thought they were kind of super young.

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    I thought so too but a lot of times when they’re like that, they taste very very off. It’s not a good idea to eat those.

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    What I found when researching this was (had to do a demo and talk on coconuts), when the meat is purple and gelatinous, it’s a super young coconut. The meat will thicken with age (inside of an unopened coconut) and whiten, then as coconuts get older, the meat will turn more of a gray color. In fact, if you get a case and find that they are really young, keep them in the fridge for a week and the meat will become thicker as time goes on (it’s coconut water will build up the meat thickness). The thin, gelatinous meat looks gross, but it is nutritious and good for smoothies. Coconut meat is not sweet, just nutritious and good for adding to recipes and smoothies we think. However…..... VERY IMPORTANT: When you open a coconut, you should taste the water first. If it is not sweet, then take it back to the store for a replacement and tell them it was bad. It might look ok and be bad, or it might look gross and be good…taste the water first and let your tastebuds be the judge for you. So far out of cases and cases of coconuts, we have not gotten any that are rotten. The water should be anywhere from a very mild sweet taste to very sweet.

    SMOOTHIES: From personal experience, smoothies are not good that have sat around that have coconut in it, even refrigerated, the next day didn’t taste good BUT that could have been the banana in it getting strong, couldn’t tell, just didn’t like it. Coconut water put in a sealed jar in our fridge, and coconut meat in a container in our fridge, tasted fine even up to 2 days (sorry, we use it normally before that time anyway :)) Another thought, maybe it was a fruit combination with coconut that didn’t work with your tastebuds??? I made one once and it was with berries that weren’t too sweet, and I didn’t like it, it tasted “off” to me, but again smoothie combinations are all a personal choice since we all like different flavors :)

    Try to get a coconut that is firm on the outside without lots of sponginess to it on the bottom. The inside still should be fine even if there is some sponginess. Remember, taste the water first…if it’s sweet, then strain it thru a mesh bag or sieve and drink-er-up ;) Always wash off or scrape off any brown remnants, from the inside of the shell, that are on your coconut meat. They are not good for digestion.

    You can freeze the meat and water if you aren’t going to use it, but you should be able to store the water in the fridge for at least a day or two without it tasting badly.

    I hope this helps, give it another try…taste the water first :)

  • rawmama, that’s some very useful info! so do you buy your cases online? if so, from what website? i go thru tons of coconuts, but i always buy them individually from a store down the street for $1.99 a piece and i have come across a few rancid ones. i’m wondering if buying cases would be a better option. thanks!

  • KristensRawKristensRaw Raw Newbie

    I’ve had coconuts in green smoothies taste “soapy” a short while after making them, but the water had tasted fine before I mixed them. I’m not sure why…I’ll do a little digging and see if I can come up with something and report back :)

    Kristen Suzanne

     

  • I had a question about coconut consumption. Arent coconuts loaded with the “bad” saturated fat?

  • From what I’ve understood the young coconuts has less fat than mature coconuts. http://wiliweld.com/coconuts/nutrition.html I like this young coconut info site.

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    Cole, saturated fat isn’t necessarily bad for you, some people would say that it just got a bad rep and even animal fat is good, and some will say that only when it comes from a vegetable source (coconuts) it’s good. Regardless, the fats in coconuts, young or old, actually promotes weight loss for some people. I personally feel that I NEED young coconuts (which are lower in sat. fats than mature, definitely) and wouldn’t eat them if I didn’t. Also, coconuts have anti-fungal properties and are a very good source of calcium. If you feel you’re drawn to them, you might need them for those reasons. If you don’t dig the taste too much, don’t bother. That is my opinion of course :c) Also, I wouldn’t try to keep the coconut water, they lose nutrients extremely fast and are better right away.

  • Oh dear, if I didn’t know coconuts sooooo very well I may have been put of by the descriptions I’ve seen in here.

    Luckily the coconut trees( when we have one that is growing) home here produce absolutely amazing coconuts. WE call the smaller, SWEET ones Chinese Coconut( got no clue why though). We have bigger ones that easily hold more than 1.5 litres. Got people selling coconuts at a lot of places. In fact a popular breakfast in the capital of Trinidad is fresh coconut water( you drink out of the nut with a straw) and ‘doubles’( sort of an indian sandwich)

    And the very young nut, the water is sweet, the meat is DELICIOUS and sweet. In fact the older the nut gets the less sweet it tastes. Sad to say the meat never survives our house( any house in this island as a matter of fact) for more than a day, it ends up in many satisfied bellies( hehe). Grocery stores even sell fresh bottles coconut water, that if not bought after 5 days its thrown out. Its expensive for us, but when converted to other currencies its DIRT CHEAP….. eg a half gallon coconut water is bout TT$40 or US$ 6 or less than 4 pounds.

    Coconut water is supposed to be sweet, so as said here, once it doesn’t taste sweet and pleasant, take it back immediately, forget that you paid lots of money for it. Eating a bad coconut is just robbing yourself or something great.

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    Hi juliennecoyle, We buy our coconuts from a local health food store in PA…$14 for 9 HUGE young coconuts. My brother lives in Florida and found an Asian Market/Store that will sell them by the case for $13 and an open air market that sells a case for $14. Look for Asian Markets or stores in your phone book and give them a call :) I am going to check our yellow pages next and see if I can get them for less money from an Asian store around here.

    Hi Fini, that’s really interesting! I never heard of a Chinese Coconut before, but would love to taste one, especially if the meat is sweet. I had to laugh when you said that the descriptions would have turned you off from coconuts…they do sound sort of gross! That’s how people were describing them when I was researching the differences between youngest to more mature coconuts, and I have to say that it has helped me to know that it’s ok if a coconut looks sort of purple or has no meat inside at all vs the beautiful white meat we all expect :) You are so lucky to be able to buy the water for that price…we just LOVE coconut water!

  • Thanks :D All of this is really helpful. I’ll have to try a coconut again… There’s an asian market really close by so I’ll have to see if they sell them.

    Thanks again! =)

  • Well I tried again. I got another young coconut and this time just drank the water. It was good. :) I froze the meat to use another day, so we’ll see how that goes.

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    That’s great to hear! :) Each one tastes different and I think that each time I say, “oh this one is the best one yet!” I think we’re getting addicted to them! LOL, they’re so yummy and are truly a special treat from God loaded with lots of health benefits :) I had found that each time my weight had plateaued, coconut water got my metabolism going again …have a great weekend…

  • elizabethhelizabethh Raw Newbie

    i personally LOVE young coconuts, except i still have to get my dad to open them because i’m a little uneasy about enormous knives. also remember they are what i like to call a “natural gatorade”, or an electrolyte fluid. great for athletes and very active people…well actually great for everyone. even babies! yum yum coconut

  • Morning_theftMorning_theft Raw Newbie

    I didn’t mean to make them sound horrible… I love love love young coconuts. On my birthday, Matt bought me 7 of them and I just made a hole and stuck a straw into it! It was bliss. They are wonderful indeed.

  • Hey all I dont think this was mentioned so I thought I’d throw it in. Yes coconut are high in fats but they are also high in Lipase which is the enzyme that digests fat. So its kinda like a double negative, this is why they are helpful for weightloss! I LOVE COCONUTS! I could live on coconuts Nana milk and thai salad wraps! YUMMY!

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