Drinking Coconut (Young Coconut)

Also known as young coconut, the drinking coconut is one that has had the outer shell partially removed and usually looks like a cylinder with a point on top. The coconut naturally filters water through its roots and trunk ending up in the coconut nut (actually a seed). That can take over 6 months filter. The water is purified when it travels through the fibers of the tree. The average young coconut has about 2 cups of water in it. You can scoop out the soft meat called "jelly" once opened, usually a thin layer.

The development of the Drinking Coconut (green) to a Mature Coconut (brown)

The development of a coconut goes through several stages.  After 6 months it has reached its full size but contains no kernel (meat), just a cloudy solution. A nut with an internal diameter of 100 mm contains about 25 mL of "nut water" when the kernel has not yet developed.

The "drinking coconuts" taste best between 6 and 9 months old. At about 8 months the kernel appears first as a soft jelly on the inside of the shell. The kernel (meat) progressively hardens from a rubber texture at 10 months to a solid and crisp form at 12 months.

A small proportion of the Coconut crop is sold during the immature stage as drinking coconuts.  

Coconut Water
Clear, sweet water within the Green Coconut. Popular as a thirst-quencher and is often said to have a fizz similar to a carbonated drink.
(This is not coconut milk.)  

Coconut flesh (endosperm)
Translucent, jelly-like meat. This soft meat is usually called spoon-meat or pudding because of the soft and spongy texture.  It can be scooped out with a spoon.

Fascinating therapeutic qualities which add value and glamour to the Drinking Coconut

• The water in a young coconut is a natural isotonic beverage. It has the same level of electrolytic balance as we have in our blood. It resembles blood plasma. Some say drinking coconut water is a blood builder and drink it in the morning with lime.
• Others say drinking coconut water replaces fluids and minerals that the body has lost, if someone has diarrhea.
• The liquid from this Drinking coconut is at its purest and most healing. It is considered the best for its cooling properties.  While unclogging the body's channels, tender coconut water lubricates the dryness caused by ama. It repairs the gastro-intestinal tract, and its snigdha or sweet quality gives it a pranaropana-life-restoring-capacity.                                      
• Coconuts do not contain cholesterol they contain raw saturated fat. Raw saturated fat can be beneficial to the human body.

Serving Suggestion
Drinking coconuts are presented with a hole poked in the top, a straw for easy sipping and sometimes a spoon. Once the water's gone you scoop up the flesh.

The flesh of the coconut (endosperm) at this stage is translucent, jelly-like and quite delicious. If not consumed straight away it can be mixed with the juice, sweetened with sugar and frozen to make refreshing ice blocks.

How to Select a Drinking Coconut
Drinking coconuts should feel heavy, be free of mould and have a firm white exterior. For freshness, they should be sold chilled. Reject any with signs of mold or deterioration.

Storage
A drinking coconut should be kept cold until serving.
They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Preparation and opening
Create a hole in the pointed end of the nut that is large enough for a spoon by using a knife. For harder nuts, tap a triangle of punctures with a screwdriver and hammer, and then ply out the plug.

Instructions on opening 
(video and instruction coming soon)