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Official TTI Chef
At the first, fruit of the coconut palm is not a nut but a drupe.
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word. The term is derived from 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish coco, meaning "head" or "skull", from the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.
Found throughout the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diets of many people. Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. When mature, they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. The endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh".[5] When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is drinkable. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.
The various parts of the coconut have a number of culinary uses. The seed provides oil for frying, cooking, and making margarine. The white, fleshy part of the seed, the coconut meat, is used fresh or dried in cooking, especially in confections and desserts such as macaroons. Desiccated coconut or coconut milk made from it is frequently added to curries and other savory dishes. Coconut flour has also been developed for use in baking, to combat malnutrition. Coconut chips have been sold in the tourist regions of Hawaii and the Caribbean.
Coconut butter is often used to describe solidified coconut oil, but has also been adopted as a name by certain specialty products made of coconut milk solids or puréed coconut meat and oil. Dried coconut is also used as the filling for many chocolate bars. Some dried coconut is purely coconut but others are manufactured with other ingredients, such as sugar, propylene glycol, salt, and sodium metabisulfite.
According to an urban legend, there are more deaths caused by falling coconuts than by sharks annually.
Coconut can be a food allergen although its prevalence varies from country to country. While coconut is one of the top-five food allergies in India where it is a common food source, such allergies to coconut are considered rare in Australia, the UK, and the United States. As a result, commercial extracts of coconut are not currently available for skin prick testing in Australia or New Zealand.
How to open a coconut:
And now, take your coconut with you and let´s go to the kitchen to found out what we can get from the coconuts.