Comments on: Mature Coconut

By: risa

risa — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:20:34 +0000

Oh gosh, I can’t believe I’m the only one writing about the “hairy nut”. Too precious.

By: bernadette

bernadette — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:30:28 +0000

we have around 30-plus coconut trees in our garden but we have someone harvest the coconuts when they mature to be cooked into copra meat. My husband thought it just but natural to know how it is to be a coconut farmer so he built an electric kudkuran (which we would see in the market) of those specially-made blades for them as well as a press (for squeezing out the gata) made out of an ordinary car jack. We also bought an ultra heavy coconut de-husker. He then proceeded to master the art of harvesting to opening coconuts and then pressing coconut milk to get gata. Well, to make a long story short, he concluded that he had enough of the tedious and messy job and to just buy gata (for P10 a plastic bag) from the palengke. So, he sold everything to a lady who makes coconut oil as well as VCO. The woman didn’t have enough money to pay though, so we had a year’s supply of VCO as her payment in kind. So much for doing everything yourself, we tell ourselves. There will be others to do it and should also be given the opportunity to earn from it :-)!

By: Mila

Mila — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:38:51 +0000

To Asi, who is looking for rose/orange blossom water – you can sometimes find the latter at the spice store in Marketmarket (Fort Bonifacio), I always forget the name of the store, I think it’s called Spices. They also have thyme water, but I only saw it there once. If they’ve run out, try the Indian stores along UN Avenue (assad’s, uncle ed’s).

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:40:28 +0000

Gener,
Thanks for the tip, i always like to grate my coconut using the “kudkuran” but i never knew how to tell if the coconut im buying is good or not, I just mainly shake them if there’s water, and to me that was good enough, if i don’t hear water, then maybe the coconut was old try the next one ;-). Btw, for those who live in California, Seafood City sells the kudkuran for less than $10 (good investment).

Chowhound, nothing beats freshly grated coconut as topping for puto, cutchinta, palitaw, pichi-pichi, and once you use fresh coconut milk, you will never go back to the canned ones, well maybe for convenience ;-) And it’s so easy to open a coconut, just hold it with the palm of your one hand at the bottom of the coconut and smash it’s side with the dull side of your chef’s knife until it starts a crack, turning it around and keep hitting, until the crack lenghtens and meet each other. You just make sure you are doing this in your sink since the water will start pouring out as the crack gets longer.

By: faithful reader

faithful reader — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:03:41 +0000

Gener,

Thank you so much for that info. I will try one more time and hopefully well have better luck. Kutchinta is really not kutchinta without freshly grated cococut.

By: Gener

Gener — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:41:06 +0000

TO FAITHFUL,
Here are some tips of finding good coconuts
1.Check the weight-heavy means meaty as to compare to it size.
2.Shake and listen to its sound inside(water movement)if the water movement creates splashy sound, means meat is thin and not good enough. choose if whose the least sound.
3.Check the coconut if its wet(some areas) and rotting smell is around. that is absolutely damaged.
4.Size in appearance does not be the matter but always its weight…..

By: meekerz

meekerz — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:31:09 +0000

I have fond memories of my lola’s old cook using the kudkuran. I would always volunteer to help and later on would squeeze the grated coconut with my little paws. I’d barely get any cream, and would always be amazed at how she could get so much. Ahh, the memories of childhood :)

By: Chowhound

Chowhound — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:09:58 +0000

We cook everything with coconut milk and not having fresh coconut milk is perhaps one the most difficult things I had to contend with when I moved here. The price of a dried up and ugly looking tiny coconut over here is just plain ridiculous. Plus I wouldn’t know how to cut it open, I also don’t have a kudkuran (grater) so I just use the canned coconut milk. It’s not the same, nothing beats the real thing. I miss laing and Bicol express with real coconut milk, just thinking about them makes me both home sick and hungry at the same time.

By: yen

yen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:33:45 +0000

pahabol to comment above: best if coconut is manually grated and is from a fruit that is mature, not geriatric. :)

By: yen

yen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:23:19 +0000

sprinkle sugar on a bowl of grated coconut. eat. heaven.