Description
For ease in opening, puncture the eyes of the coconut with a screwdriver and drain the juice. Then heat the coconut under hot running water or place in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Fault lines will appear on the warmed coconut. Hold the hot coconut in a cloth and place over a large bowl. Hit the fault lines with a hammer or mallet. Save the liquid, remove the meat, and peel off brown outer pieces with a small knife. To prepare thick coconut milk, wrap grated coconut in cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Pour one-half cup warm water over and squeeze liquid into the bowl. This can be done multiple times resulting in different thickness for the milk/cream. Use the milk and meat in fruit salads, puddings, cakes, cookies, custards, pies and other baked goods. Tint grated coconut with food coloring to make a colorful sweet topping. To store, whole coconuts will keep at room temperature for two weeks. For longer storage, refrigerate. Grated coconut will keep two weeks refrigerated in a glass jar. Place a whole hot chile in with the coconut to keep it from going bad. The outer shell, or husk, of the coconut can be use used as a starter for charcoal when grilling.