Coconut Juice | Nam Maprow | น้ำมะพร้าว

Do you love fresh coconut juice, but have a hard time opening the coconut? Here's a fast, easy, and basically foolproof method for cracking open a young coconut.

It's hard to beat fresh coconut juice, sipped directly from a young coconut. But cracking into the coconut can be a challenge! The shell is extremely tough and thick, and hacking away through the layers can be time consuming, not to mention dangerous. Fortunately, there's an easier way to crack the coconut, and you don't even need a special tool to do it!

What is a Young Coconut?

A young coconut is simply a coconut that has been harvested before it's fully mature. It's sometimes also called a green coconut, as its outer skin is a vibrant light green color. Once the outer skin is chopped away, a thick white inner husk is revealed. The hard coconut shell is inside of that. Lining the coconut shell is jelly-like coconut meat, and delicious coconut juice fills the interior.

In comparison, a mature coconut has a brown hairy husk. Its inner meat is hard and it's filled with less coconut water. The hard meat of the mature coconut is what coconut milk is made from.

Where to Find a Young Coconut

Young coconuts are often sold at Asian markets, especially those catering to the Southeast Asian population. More recently, I've even seen young coconuts at my local mainstream grocery stores as well as Walmart and Costco!

Although they are becoming easier to find, picking a good young coconut can still be challenging. To choose the freshest coconut possible, check for an expiration date (they are usually printed on the boxes of young coconuts sold in a 9 pack). It helps to also inspect the coconuts themselves. You want a young coconut with bright white skin without any bruises, brown spots, or spots of blue-green mold.

Equipment

To crack open the young coconut, you will need a large, sharp knife. A cleaver works best, but you can use a chef's knife in a pinch. That's it, that's all you need to open a young coconut. If you'd like to enjoy the young coconut meat in addition to the coconut juice, a Thai coconut meat scraper is the best tool to easily remove it from the coconut.

How to Open a Young Coconut

Follow these steps to crack open a young coconut and reveal the delicious fresh coconut juice inside. As you are using a sharp knife, be sure to use caution at all times.

Turn the coconut on its side. Holding it steady with one hand, use the knife in your other hand to shave the husk off the top and reveal the dome of the coconut shell.

With the husk shaved off, you will be able to appreciate three lines that meet in the middle of the dome.

Using the heel of the knife, make a sharp direct cut where one of the three lines meets the edge of the dome. Make additional cuts in the same spot if needed, to pierce through the coconut shell.

Using the heel of the knife as a lever, pry upwards. The coconut shell should crack open in a perfect circle, revealing the inner meat and juice inside.

Fresh Coconut Juice

Once your young coconut is open, you can enjoy the fresh coconut juice. In Thai, coconut juice (or coconut water) is known as Nam Ma Plow (น้ำมะพร้าว). Fresh coconut juice will be clear in color and taste sweet and nutty. If the coconut juice is brown or murky, it's likely no longer good. Likewise, the coconut meat should be bright white and firm, without any pocks or discolorations.

You can add a straw and sip the fresh coconut juice directly from the young coconut, if you like. Or, if you prefer, you can pour the juice into a glass and enjoy it with ice. If there are pieces of shell that fell into the coconut juice, you should run it through a strainer before serving.

Once the liquid has been removed from the coconut, you can use the Thai coconut meat scraper to remove the jelly-like coconut meat. This meat is delicious eaten on its own. It's also often added to the coconut juice, or to various Thai desserts.

So there you have it - a quick, easy, and basically foolproof method for opening a young coconut. I hope this helps you to enjoy delicious fresh coconut juice whenever you're in the mood for a refreshing tropical drink!