Four Coconuts and a Machete

A private chef client handed me a recipe for a raw foods chai latte smoothie and said, "Can you make this for me?" I looked at the first ingredient - "Water and Meat of Four Coconuts". I thought to myself "Yipes, I never did go to Rawvolution for that lesson on how to open a coconut." I looked at my client and said, "Yes, I'll make this for you, no problem." I love a good challenge and there's no way I was going to tell her I had never hacked open a coconut, let alone four of them.

At Whole Foods Market, I found out that they will open the coconuts for you at no extra charge. I got excited until I learned that they won't save the water for you. That's like keeping a gold setting and throwing away the diamond. Coconut water is so luscious and amazing and I knew it was necessary for the recipe. So, I asked for a mini lesson. The produce guy said, "Good luck." in a, "You're gonna have a helluva time" kind of way and I went on my way.

Back at my client's home, I placed the first coconut on its side on the counter. I took a chefs knife, held it high in the air above the coconut and came down on it as hard as I possibly could. Whack!!! Oh boy, it hardly did a thing. I kept at it a while making little headway as coconut shrapnel sprayed all over the kitchen. Choosing laughter over panic, I remained steadfast, I was going to open these coconuts.

After making little headway, I decided to search the kitchen for a better tool. In one drawer filled with miscellaneous items, I actually found a machete and thought, "Now we're talking!" I pulled the machete out of its case, washed it off and in no time flat, I hacked the coconut open, drained the water out and used a fork to extract the coconut meat from the inside of the shell. My determination paid off and it really wasn't that bad. The smoothie, on the other had was one of the best things I ever tried in my life! Next week, I'll share the recipe with you.

So, don't be afraid of a coconut. There are better ways to open one than recklessly hacking away at them with a knife.

Here are a couple of links:

http://www.howtoopenacoconut.com/

http://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Coconut

http://thenaughtyvegan.com/youngcoconut.htm