How to Pick the Perfect Coconut

I’m sure you’ve seen people strolling the produce aisle, thumping, sniffing, squishing their produce all in an attempt to pick the perfect one. Some of that nonsense is in vain, but some of it will help you on your way to the very best coconut! These tips will help:

Pretty is Best:  Inspect your coconut carefully. Overall, coconuts are pretty ugly. It’s true. But you want to avoid a coconut that looks especially lopsided or one that has any leakage out of the three black “eyes” at the top. Leakage is bad! Also, if one of the eyes is protruding, this could be a sign of infected flesh inside. Look carefully for any discoloration on the soft “eye.” It should be covered by a circular dry brown disc.

Shake It Up: Pick up your coconut and give it a good shake. You should hear and feel the coconut water sloshing around inside. If you don’t, the coconut is bad. Put that one down and walk away.

Heavy Does It: The perfect coconut should feel solid and heavy for its size. Lighter coconuts mean less flesh.

What’s the Score: While this might not always be possible, try to find one that has been scored around the middle. This will make opening your coconut when the time comes that much easier!

And there you have my fail-proof method to choosing the best coconut EVER!

Now that you’ve picked the perfect coconut, here are some yummy recipes to use it in:

Chocolate Dipped Macaroons – Coconut + Chocolate = Love

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream – It’s creamy. It’s Vegan. It’s delicious.

Carrot Cake with Coconut and Raisins – First off, there are carrots in this, so it is totally a health food.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almonds, Cranberries and Coconut – These cookies have everything but the kitchen sink.

Almond Joy Granola – “Joy” is part of the name for a reason.

Cranberry Coconut Breakfast Cookies – Cookies for breakfast always make the day a little happier.  And bonus, these are actually healthy.

Banana Bread with Walnuts, Coconut and Chocolate Chips – The walnuts, coconut and chocolate chips, completely change the deliciousness of this basic banana bread recipe.

~Mavis