How to open a coconut at home. How to crack a coconut. How to open a coconut video. How to crack a coconut at home How to crack a coconut

You decided to try the taste of natural coconut and don’t know how to approach it. Today I will tell you a couple of ways how to crack a coconut at home quickly and without problems.

How to open a coconut at home

Before you crack a coconut, you need to drink it, and to do this, open it. You will need a regular corkscrew.

Screw it into one of the dark, round spots of the coconut until you feel like you've pierced it. Next, twist the corkscrew in the opposite direction, swinging it a little to get a hole. See if the hole is made, if not, then repeat the steps again. Once a hole has appeared in the coconut, it is ready to drink.

On a note, if you hear a hissing sound when unscrewing the corkscrew, most likely the coconut has already spoiled and you shouldn’t eat it, it has fermented.

There are two ways to drink coconut:

1. Pour into a glass
2. Drink through a straw

I like the second option better and there is no need to wash the glass. The juice of a ripe coconut should have a sweetish taste; the sweeter, the more ripe the fruit. After drinking the juice, you can split the coconut.

2 ways to crack a coconut

1. For the first method you need any hammer. We take a coconut in one hand and a hammer in the other and begin to tap the coconut from all sides. After about a minute, intensify the blows a little. You need to knock until a crack appears and the coconut splits in half. Now take a steel knife and carefully remove the coconut meat. It should come off easily (to do this we tapped the coconut). Rinse the coconut meat and you can immediately eat it, make desserts or make coconut milk.
2. The second method is simpler and faster. You will need any heavy object, a dumbbell, a hammer, a kitchen hammer, an adjustable wrench, a stone, etc. will do. We put the coconut in 2 bags so as not to get dirty, and hit the coconut several times with all our might until it opens. It is better to split large parts into small ones. Be sure to place rags under the coconut or do it on the carpet. Now remove from the bag the parts of the coconut where the flesh has not come off on its own and use a steel knife to remove it. Rinse everything thoroughly. Ready! The second method takes less time and, in my opinion, is simpler: hit it a couple of times and the coconut opens, and often the pulp itself separates from the nut.

Coconut is quite tasty and exotic. And how easily and simply it splits into two even halves in the old but very famous Bounty advertisement, exposing its snow-white flesh. And whenever there is a desire to enjoy the incredible taste of this pulp, the question arises, how to properly open a coconut.

In contact with

You can twirl the coconut endlessly, hit it vigorously with something sharp, and as a result, fragments of the shell will fly in different directions, the nut itself will awkwardly fall to the floor, and the milk will simply spill out.

This picture is far from the grace that the commercial shows us. Let's figure out how to open a coconut at home.

How to crack a nut?

Many people wonder how to open a coconut and at the same time save their nerves. To do this, you should stock up on several tools, which will be discussed in this section.

Coconut pulp

Hammer and nail

This tip will help those who do not know how to open a coconut easily. In addition to a hammer (kitchen or carpenter's), you should take an ordinary nail (it can also be replaced with a drill, the diameter of which should not exceed the size of the dark inclusions on the nut itself).

To know how to split a coconut, you will need to follow these steps:

1. The nut is placed on a hard surface, then turned so that the dark inclusions are clearly visible.
2. Since the spots are a fairly pliable part of the nut, in this case a nail or drill is applied to them.
3. Then you need to make a clear blow on the nail with a hammer. There is no point in stabbing with anger.
4. The tool easily passes inside the shell.
5. The nail is pulled out of the hole made.
6. Attention is focused on other spots. You should make two or three more holes in the same way.
7. The fruit must be rotated carefully so that the milk in it does not spill out.
8. When everything is done, the coconut liquid is drained from the holes. There's no need to rush.
9. Now you should find out how to open a coconut. First you need to mentally imagine a line passing between the perforated top and the bottom itself.
10. Moving in a circle, the coconut is beaten along this very imaginary line.
11. The nut will begin to give in and crack completely.

With a towel

There is another way to split a coconut at home. You can wrap the nut in a towel, place it on a hard surface and hit it with all your might with a hammer. The coconut will be broken.

No towel

How else can you properly split a coconut - of course, in the same way, only without a towel. To do this, you need to hit the coconut with a hammer, and then use a knife to push the cracks that have formed to the sides.

Plastic bag

Hit the nut wrapped in a plastic bag with a hammer. It will not look entirely aesthetically pleasing, even scary. But just having an idea of ​​how difficult it can be to open a coconut correctly, you can use any means.

Knife

This tip is suitable for those who are interested in how to open a coconut using a knife:

1. A line is outlined, the so-called “equator”. In this case, you should resort to the trick described in the first method.
2. The coconut is taken in the hand.
3. While holding the fruit suspended, you should tap the “equator” with a knife.
4. A crack should appear into which the knife blade is then placed.
5. Since cutting a cracked coconut with a knife will be easier, the nut will soon crack.

Saw

There is one good method on how to properly open a coconut at home using a saw:

1. The juice is drained in the same way as was described at the very beginning.
2. A towel is spread on the table. This is necessary to ensure that the fruit does not slip.
3. It is best to hold the coconut tightly in a vice. If there is no such tool, then you will have to do without it.
4. The “equator” stands out on the coconut. Mentally or with a marker.
5. The nut is sawn.

Screwdriver or electric drill

If you know how to open a coconut using a screwdriver, you can do it very smoothly and accurately:

1. Juice pours out.
2. The “equator” is being found.
3. Using an electric drill or a screwdriver, holes are drilled along the equatorial line. This should be done every two to three centimeters.
4. The nut should be hit on a hard surface, preferably concrete.
5. The fetus splits.

If there are few holes, then the shell will not open as smoothly as we would like, but rather into pieces. And many holes located too close to each other will cause the fruit to split while the drilling is still taking place.

How to break without a hammer?

It happens that there are no available means. Then doubts arise about how to open a coconut at home without a hammer. But there is always a way out.

Throw on the floor

I want to try a coconut, but not everyone knows how to open it while at home, without a hammer or drill. In this case, you can use a simple but barbaric method, more reminiscent of a cry of despair than calm and prudent cracking of a nut. Here's another way to break a coconut correctly: you should throw it on the floor.

The impact will cause the fruit to crack. Knowing how to break a coconut at home, it will not be superfluous to take care that liquid does not leak out of it.

It is better to drain the liquid from the coconut through the holes first.

Leaning against the wall

Here is another way to quickly open a coconut:

1. The coconut leans its “equator” against the wall. Ordinary brick or border are also suitable.
2. Then you need to press your own weight on the nut.
3. The fruit needs to be turned slightly during the process.

This method requires considerable patience, but if you really want to enjoy the incredible taste of this overseas delicacy, you should consider all the methods for breaking a coconut at home, especially without a hammer.

Oven

You can also use another, more hygienic and reasonable method, thanks to which everyone will learn how to open a coconut at home using the least force:

1. To begin with, holes are made in the inclusions and the juice is drained.
2. The oven is heated to 180-200 degrees.
3. A nut is placed in it.
4. After ten or fifteen minutes the first crack should appear. If this does not happen, you need to heat it longer.
5. When the result appears, the nut is removed from the oven.
6. Cool (even in the refrigerator) and wrap in a towel.
7. Now you need to figure out how to properly open a cooled coconut. You need to knock on the fruit until it completely cracks.

If in this case the nut does not crack completely, then you should loosen the shell with a knife in the hole of the crack itself.

We must also remember that under no circumstances should you place a coconut filled with liquid. In this case, it will boil, and the shell will explode from the steam, and this threatens with disastrous consequences for the oven, for the kitchen as a whole, and first of all for the one who wants to enjoy the coconut.

How to clean easily?

Knowing little about how to break a coconut, you also need to separate the flesh from the shell. In fact, it should be properly called copra. Many people do not know how to properly peel a coconut, so they separate the copra using a spoon. However, this is quite tedious, since the pulp is quite tough and does not give in very easily.

To further have an idea of ​​how best to peel a coconut, you should follow this advice:

1. Take a knife.
2. Then use a knife to draw a line between the copra and the shell itself. This way you need to do it all around the perimeter.
3. Not everyone understands how to clean a coconut at home if it is split into pieces. In this case, it is necessary to make similar cuts with each piece separately.
4. Then knock half of the nut on the floor or something hard.
5. Copra peels off easily, and there is really nothing complicated about how to cut a coconut.

Some craftsmen peel coconuts like potatoes

How to drain the liquid correctly?

To ensure that the coconut water does not spill in vain at the moment when the fruit opens, it should be drained correctly. It's easy to do:

1. At the top of the nut, where the dark spots are, a depression is made using a sharp knife, metal pin, knitting needle or nail.
2. Any of these sharp objects is inserted inside the pliable inclusion.
3. A hole is made.
4. Take a glass.
5. The coconut is turned over so that the hole is above the glass.
6. The liquid flows independently into the prepared container.
7. To make sure that all the water has flowed out, shake the fruit.

How to cut the pulp?

Many people already have ideas about the best way to peel a coconut at home. The separated copra is now washed under water and cut with an ordinary knife. It’s most convenient to cut into slices. Since it is tough, you should use a sharper knife for this purpose, preferably for peeling vegetables. Some people want to know how to peel the coconut smoothly and beautifully. In this case, it is best to use a slicer. In this case, the copra will be cut very carefully.

It can be eaten raw or grated on a fine grater. Copra is also frozen. To do this, place the resulting slices in freezer bags. You must first remove the air from the bag so that the slices do not freeze later.

The benefits of coconut for the body are quite extensive. It contains the following beneficial microelements:

• vitamins B, E and C;
• mineral salts;
• sucrose;
• fructose.

Thanks to such a rich and healing composition, the nut helps improve vision, promotes restoration of strength, and also has healing properties. It is not for nothing that Asians have always considered the fruit a vital elixir, which not only nourishes the human body, but also helps restore water balance.

One hundred grams of coconut milk contains enough fats and proteins, the energy value is 395 kcal. Milk can slow down the process of skin aging. The juice is also good for digestion.

Also, the juice of this fruit is actively used in cosmetology, adding it to lotions and shampoos. It disinfects, soothes, tones and moisturizes the skin. There is even one legend according to which the Queen of Sheba performed ablutions exclusively with coconut milk, adding goat milk to it. Thus, she remained young and beautiful for a long time.

Milk is also indispensable for treating various rashes that may appear due to allergies.

Useful video

Open the coconut using a regular kitchen knife:

Conclusion

1. It's not that easy to crack a coconut if you don't know some secrets. As a rule, you cannot do this without the help of a hammer, knife or saw.
2. The main thing is not to hammer unreasonably and with anger, but to make clear and even strikes.
3. Surprisingly, you can divide the fruit into two halves without any improvised means, using the oven. But the pulp is best separated with a knife, not a spoon.

Coconut products such as milk, shavings, butter or flour have long ceased to be rare exotic items on our tables. Coconut butter is actively used in cosmetic skin and hair care. Chips are added to baked goods. Nutritious cocktails and porridges are prepared using plant milk. And yet, despite the availability and variety of derivative products, sometimes you want to pamper your household with a fresh tropical nut. This is where the question arises, how to split a coconut at home.

How does a coconut work?

Coconut is the fruit of the palm tree Cocos nucifera, mistakenly called a nut. According to the botanical classification, it is a dry drupe. The fruit of the coconut palm is round. On average, it reaches 15–30 cm in diameter and weighs 1.5–2.5 kg. A coconut picked from a palm tree looks like a large green walnut. The top layer of the fruit is a thick, fleshy shell riddled with fibers. During the primary processing, it is peeled off. Dried fibers, called coir, are usually used to make mattresses.

How to split a coconut? It's easier to do this when you know the structure of the nut. Under the outer shell is the seed of the fruit. This is what they sell in stores. The top of the seed is covered with a hard, woody shell. Although it seems monolithic, it consists of three lobes, forming convex edges at the junction. At the blunt (upper) end of the coconut there are three dark points - ovules, through which the sprout of the future palm tree should break through. Under the shell is a thin brown skin. It covers a white, oily pulp (copra) 6–12 mm thick. A colorless, slightly cloudy liquid with a characteristic sweetish odor splashes in the cavity of the coconut - coconut water.

Advice. From coconuts of the same size, choose the one that is heavier - it has more pulp. The shell should be free of mold and damage. Be sure to shake the fruit near your ear: if there is no characteristic splash, the nut is old and dry.

How to extract coconut water

If you don’t have any means at hand, you can break the coconut with a strong blow to the ground. When cracked this way, the nut will fly into pieces, and the liquid will naturally spill out. That is why it is better to first express the coconut water. To do this, you need to find a weak spot on the nut shell and make a hole in it with a nail, knife, scissors or a Phillips screwdriver. The easiest way to make a hole is in the ovule. And although there are three dark spots on the coconut, only one will be pliable - the one through which the sprout was going to break through. As a rule, such a germination hole is located on the widest lobe of the shell.

This is interesting. In nature, coconuts are found with three impenetrable ovules. The embryo of “blind” nuts, unable to break through the shell, dies. Lime from the coconut water gradually accumulates around it. This is how a solid formation is formed, resembling pearls in structure and appearance.

After making a hole, turn the coconut over and place it on the glass. If the liquid does not flow out well, you can make another hole in the adjacent ovule. The drink in the glass will be translucent and taste salty and sweet. Many people mistakenly think that it is milk. No, the liquid inside the nut is water. Milk is obtained artificially - by soaking dry shavings or fresh grated coconut pulp.

How to get coconut meat

The easiest way to crack a coconut at home is with a hammer. If you need to cut the shell carefully, it is better to use a hacksaw. It is necessary to saw along the entire circumference, trying not to go deep into the pulp. This method is suitable for those who want to make a craft from a shell: a stand or a souvenir. In other cases, it is better to use a hammer.

Instructions on how to properly split a coconut:

• Place the coconut on a cutting board and secure with your hand. Take a hammer in your free palm.
• Tap the surface of the nut evenly for a minute. Do it easily: your task is not to split the coconut, but to beat the pulp from the shell.
• Turn the nut from time to time to work the hammer over the entire surface.
• Then, retreating a third of the distance from the top, apply one or two strong blows to create a crack.
• Use a knife to remove part of the shell. Remove the copra.
• Use a vegetable peeler or knife to remove the brown skin. Next, use the pulp for its intended purpose.

Copra is not always completely separated from the shell. How to easily extract the pulp? Place the broken nut in an oven preheated to 150 degrees. After 5 minutes, take it out of there and remove the shell without much effort.

How to quickly crack a nut without a hammer? Use a large kitchen knife. Gradually turning the nut, tap the entire shell with the blunt side of the blade. After a few seconds, a crack will appear on the surface of the coconut, which will need to be widened with a knife blade. Now take out the pulp.

Buying tropical fruits is always accompanied by the most conflicting feelings.

The anticipation of an exotic meal, the expectation of unusual taste sensations will delight any person, but embarrassment happens. Many people have no idea how to use this or that fruit if they have not come across it before.

You need to know how to crack a coconut at home - without a hammer and with one, since it depends on whether you can leave the milk - the liquid inside the nut and the shell itself - intact. Creative people will want to use the nut skins for crafts after eating the edible pulp.

To quickly split a capricious fruit, it is not necessary to have special devices.

Method one

You will need a nail, a glass and a hammer. The sequence of actions is as follows.

1. Examine the surface of the shell. On one side there are black dots. Poke it with a nail: two will be tightly closed, and one will yield to pressure. Drive the nail in exactly halfway. If you don’t have a nail, you can use scissors, an awl, a screwdriver or a knitting needle.
2. Now you need to drain the juice through the resulting hole. Turn the nut upside down into a glass and leave it there until completely empty.
3. Take the coconut fruit in one hand, a hammer in the other and tap the top part with the black dots in a circle until a crack appears. The distance to three points is 1/3 of the entire height of the coconut. It is necessary to knock until the crack closes the circle.
4. Now everything is simple: pick it up with something sharp and carefully divide it into two parts. Numerous photo and video reports clearly show the entire process.

Attention! Try to be careful when working with a hammer. Strike confidently, strongly. The movements must be sharp and precise, otherwise you will knock your hand off.

Method two

The peel splits quickly using another method. After emptying the juice into a glass, you need to place the coconut on a hard surface and hit it with something heavy until a crack forms. Use a knife to carefully “dismember” the shell.

How to open a coconut using an oven

This method is based on the temperature difference between inside and outside the fruit.

1. Drain the juice according to the principle indicated in the first chapter.
2. Preheat the oven to 180-200 degrees and place the coconut there.
3. Wait for a crack to appear. If it doesn't crack within 10-15 minutes, heat until it does.
4. Take it out, cool it and wrap it in a towel. Now tap on a hard surface until it cracks completely.
5. If you are unable to split it completely, use a knife. Insert the blade into the hole in the crack and finish what you started by pressing lightly to loosen the shell.

Attention! Never put coconut with liquid in the oven! When heated, it can boil and the steam will explode the shell, which will lead to unpredictable consequences for you, the kitchen and equipment.

When using any of the above methods, properly split the coconut into

It won't work at home - it will crack as it pleases. What to do if you need a smooth edge.

For this we will use a hand saw.

1. Drain the juice using a screwdriver, knitting needle, nail or other sharp object.
2. Place a towel on the table to prevent the nut from sliding on the surface. Ideally, it should be clamped in a vice, but in an ordinary apartment you rarely find professional vices with such a scope, so be careful.
3. Saw along the pre-designated line.

An easy way to carefully split

There is a simpler and very effective method of evenly splitting the shell without a hammer.

1. Drain the liquid.
2. Find the line of articulation of the halves or the “equator”. It's not difficult to find. Draw a line exactly along it with a thick marker.
3. Place the nut on a flat surface covered with a terry towel, cling film or coarse cloth.
4. Place the blunt side of a large kitchen knife against the mark and strike firmly. Turn over and repeat the procedure. Do this until it cracks.

Opening with a screwdriver or electric drill

The method is good for men - craftsmen who do not want to suffer with ovens and knives.

1. Pour the juice as usual
2. Find the “equator” on the surface of the peel.
3. Drill holes every 2 or 3 cm.
4. Hit the nut on a hard surface, preferably concrete, it will crack evenly and neatly. The main thing here is to follow technology. When there are few holes, the peel may open unevenly, in other words, break into pieces. Too many holes in the peel will lead to splitting during the drilling process.

Many video materials and photo master classes teach simple wisdom - how to quickly split a coconut. Men do not suffer from the problem - they take an angle grinder and saw. Walnut is hard, but its surface can be easily manipulated by a power tool. But no matter how you try to open the recalcitrant raft, don’t do it with your teeth! You will break your teeth, but nothing special will happen to the shell.

Coconut Copra Branch

When everything is done, a snow-white, unlike anything else, inner pulp will open in front of you. This is not exactly the pulp of a fruit or nut; the substance is called copra. It requires separation from the hard peel; you need to be able to do this correctly. Some people scoop it out with a spoon, but copra is a bit harsh and the process is not entirely convenient.

Here's the easiest way.

1. Take a knife and carefully move it between the hard shell and the copra. This must be done around the entire perimeter. If the fruit is split into pieces, then manipulate each piece separately.
2. Tap half or part of a nut on the table. The copra should now separate on its own.

Advice! When separating the pulp, do not use a knife that is too sharp; this is not necessary, but your hands can be cut. A vegetable peeler or butter knife works best.

Opening a coconut quickly at home is not a problem for people who know the right methods. Based on the advice, even a teenager can handle the job.

Almost every person, having decided to try the fruit of a coconut palm for the first time, is interested in how to open a coconut so that they can quickly and beautifully get to its pulp. After all, it is covered with a very dense and thick shell consisting of fibers. But if you gain experience and repeat the procedure 3-4 times, you can become a real expert in this matter and even give advice to inexperienced beginners.

How to get coconut milk

Of particular value for culinary specialists and exotic lovers is the coconut core, which you need to get to. There are several ways to do this, but first you need to drink or pour out the coconut milk that is under the shell.

If you shake the fruit when choosing a coconut, you can hear the splashing of liquid inside, which can be eaten. If splashing is not heard, then this fruit is already old, it has been lying on the store counter for a long time and may already be spoiled. After all, the coconut itself is milk that has frozen and turned into pulp and shell.

In order to open a coconut correctly, you need to perform some steps one by one. First you need to wash the fruit, and then find three small dark dots on its upper, slightly pointed part. These are the most vulnerable places of the coconut, since it was here that the nut was attached to the palm tree by its petiole and from here nutrients were supplied to it.

After this, you can take any sharp object - a nail, screwdriver, corkscrew or awl and carefully pierce any 2 holes. After this, you can insert a straw into one hole and drink a delicious drink straight from the shell. Or you can turn the fruit over and let the coconut milk drain into a container.

How to crack a coconut

So, coconut - how to open it. After all the liquid from the fruit has been drained or drunk, you can begin to split it. You can do this in several ways:

• You need to put the nut in a clean plastic bag and hit it hard with a hammer several times. The shell of the fruit will crack and it will be enough to simply separate the pulp from it with a knife. At the same time, from impacts the pulp can often crack and fall apart into pieces.
• Although the next method is a little more complicated and requires skill, it is so effective and beautiful that it will always arouse the admiration of others. You need to take the coconut in your left hand and visually determine the “equator” on it, i.e. a line running through the widest part of the nut. Then you need to step back 2-3 cm from this line towards the narrow part of the nut, where the holes are located, and hit the fruit several times with the back of a heavy and durable knife. After several strong blows, a crack will appear on the coconut, into which you need to insert a knife and use it to split the shell in half. As a result, you will be left with a whole, undamaged coconut core and 2 halves of its shell, which are suitable for crafts.
• Similar to the previous method, before opening a coconut at home, you need to find the “equator” on it. After this, you need to monotonously tap the “equator” of the fruit with the tapered end of the hammer. After some time, the shell will not hold up and will split into 2 halves. After this, you can carefully remove the upper part of the fruit. If the pulp sticks to the shell, you will need to use a knife and carefully separate it.
• You need to take a handsaw or hacksaw and slowly cut the coconut, after draining the milk from it. This method will be ideal in case of stress.
• If you pour out the liquid from the fruit, you can take a large kitchen or hunting knife and place the coconut on a cutting board and hit it hard. The nut will split into 2 neat halves.

How to use coconut meat

After the fruit shell is cracked, the fruit pulp can be eaten, but not everyone knows how to do this correctly.

Young coconuts, which can easily be cut with a knife, are quite easy to eat. After all the liquid has been poured out, you need to make a larger hole in the shell and eat the tasty, tender pulp directly with a spoon.

In older fruits, the pulp is surrounded by a brown peel, which must be cut off with a knife or vegetable peeler. After this, the ripe coconut meat can be cut into small pieces and eaten as is.

An overripe nut will have quite hard flesh and is best used for culinary purposes. Using a regular grater, you can grate the pulp into shavings, which are an ideal topping for pastries and pies. You can also add coconut shavings to homemade baked goods - buns or pancakes. And from a large amount of shavings you can make tender, aromatic and very tasty cookies.

In Thailand, coconut is one of the ingredients of national dishes, because here a variety of sauces, delicious soups and many other interesting dishes are prepared from its pulp and milk.

Having learned how to open a coconut at home, you no longer have to worry about not being able to get to its delicious pulp and feel free to purchase this exotic tropical fruit.

Another way to split a coconut is in the video.