How to Open a Young Coconut

So how to get the coconut from the coconut? I had bought a young coconut with some but not all the outside trimmed off.


Using a good big knife, cut away much of the outer fibres. This step is probably optional, but for me, it helped me be able to crack the shell open - all that outside layer just protected the coconut shell from my attempts at hitting it!



Put coconut in a plastic bag with no holes (tie it to keep juice in!) and hit with a rolling pin or mallet. Be careful as the coconut may roll or bounce a bit, but when you're confident you're not going to injure yourself, just give it a really good whack - one decent whack will do it. 10 little hits will do nothing but dent the fibres on the outside.


As soon as you've cracked the coconut shell, carefully open bag and pour juice through a sieve into a jug and set aside.


It also turns out young coconuts have this superb jelly-like white flesh - there isn't as much of it but it is worth the effort now and again, I'd say. As the coconut was so young, I peeled the flesh from the inside of the shell with a flatish spoon.


I strained the juice through a sieve into a jug to enjoy in a cocktail later. Mmm-Hmm!