Open coconut: the best tips and tricks
To get to the delicious pulp, you first have to open a coconut. This is not so easy. With our tips and tricks you will definitely succeed.
Open coconut with a hammer
The most common way to crack a coconut is with a hammer.
- To do this, first drill a hole in two of the three germ holes. You can recognize the germ holes by the slightly recessed spots on the upper side of the coconut.
- You can use a fine drill to drill the holes.
- A cordless screwdriver will also do you good service if you use a Phillips head attachment.
- However, you can also use a hand screwdriver to gently punch the holes.
- From these holes, first pour the coconut water out of the inside of the fruit.
- Tip: To avoid spilling anything, you should hold the coconut over a slightly larger bowl while opening the holes. No amniotic fluid is lost through the collection container
- To crack the hard shell of the coconut, continue to use your tool box. Place the coconut with the belly, i.e. the thickest part of the nut, on a hard surface.
- Now hit the coconut with the tip of a hammer until you hear a slight crack.
- Then turn the coconut a little, between three and five centimeters, and strike again with the hammer. Repeat this process until the coconut splits in half.
- If the crack goes all around, use a knife to help you. Then break the coconut in half.
Open coconut without tools - that is also possible
If you don't have a hammer at hand, crack a coconut in the oven or in the microwave.
- Attention: The prerequisite is that you drain the coconut water beforehand. So you definitely have to drill the holes. Otherwise the coconut will explode when heated in the devices.
- Then put the coconut in the oven for around 20 minutes at 200 degrees, should the hard shell open by itself.
- It's even faster in the microwave. Here the coconut should open at 800 watts after only three minutes.
- Tip: Crack a coconut this way, let it cool down for ten minutes before chopping it further.
- You can try your luck on a very hard surface, for example on the street, without any tools whatsoever.
- Take the coconut in its thickest part, i.e. on the belly, in your hand and hit it on the floor.
- After each blow, turn the coconut a little further in your hand and open it again. With a little skill and patience, the coconut should also burst open in this way.
How to recognize a bad coconut will be explained in our next post.