I wanted to make a recipe that called for unsweetened coconut, but I couldn't find any. I bought a whole coconut. What I need to know is how do I open it?

Thanks,
Chickadee

Hi, Chickadee. Karen isn't in right now, so I thought I'd take a swing at this one.

I did a quick Google search on "open crack coconut" and immediately came up with THIS very helpful website on this subject:
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/crackcoc.html

It looks like a lot of fun! Don't forget to wear some safety goggles

PS: I find unsweetened coconut shreds (dried) in most Health Food Stores and the larger grocery stores, in the baking supplies section. You might want to try that sometime. Most recipes that call for unsweetened coconut are referring to the dried shreds.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Judi,

I don't know why I didn't think of doing a search on the internet...duh....

Do you think it would be ok to use fresh in the recipe or should I try to dry it?

Chickadee

Hiya.

If it was me, I'd grate it, make sure it's thoroughly drained, maybe roll it in a paper towel and then go ahead and use it in the recipe.

Of course, if it's a recipe for muffins and such, you might want to reduce the liquid by a couple of tablespoons, but if it's a recipe for coconut shrimp... well just make sure it's as dry as you can get it or maybe toast it in a frypan.

You could also get the dried stuff from a health food store or grocery store (it's common even in this backwoods city) and save the fresh for something else...

Thanks again, Judi,

I did find some in a health food store in a bigger city that isn't too far from here. I have yet to open my "real" coconut...maybe this weekend. My brother, who lived in Hawaii for a few years said that there they just put chuncks of fresh coconut in ice water and then eat the cooled chuncks. THat sounds tasty, I might try it.

Thanks again for all of your help!
Chickadee