Cracking Coconuts

I love coconut water.  Coconut water is the clear liquid found inside young coconuts.  It’s fat free, cholesterol free, low calorie, and has more electrolytes than the leading sports drinks.  You can read more about it here and here and at numerous other websites.

I can’t find pure coconut water anywhere here.  The Commissary actually has canned coconut water but it has chemical preservatives in it.  I’ve also seen a Korean canned drink that has coconuts and grapes pictured on the outside but there is a long list of ingredients written in Hangul.  Coconut water should have one ingredient – coconut water.

Much to my disappointment, Amazon.com won’t deliver coconut water (or Luna Bars) to APO addresses.  Luckily, at least for a while, the Commissary actually had young coconuts in stock!  I was able to get my coconut water fix by cracking open an actual coconut.

Cut off the pointed end of the husk, getting down to the hard shell.
Whack the coconut with the sharp bottom corner of a large knife.
Drive the tip of the knife into the hole you made and then wiggle
it around, cutting a circular piece off the top of the coconut.
Once it gets started, it’s surprisingly easy to cut but you have to do
this carefully because young coconuts are filled to the brim with water.
Finally, stick a straw in the coconut or pour the water into a glass and enjoy 🙂  The coconut meat can then be scraped out with a spoon and eaten, added to smoothies, or used in other recipes.  The younger the coconut is, the softer and more gelatinous the meat is.
It’s so much fun drinking coconut water straight from a coconut but young coconuts are not always available.  No worries, however, because my coconut water shortage has been solved another way!  I was recently placing an order at www.vitaminworld.com and saw that they started carrying coconut water AND….. they’ll deliver it to APO boxes!!!  I received my order exactly one week after placing it!  Way to go Vitamin World, you are my coconut water hero 🙂
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“There is sweet water inside a tender coconut.  Who put the water inside the coconut?  Was it the work of any man?  No, only the Divine could do such a thing.”
~Sri Sathya Sai Baba