Coconut
The coconut is the fruit of the coconut palm, a representative of the Arecaceae or palm family.
The flower is complete up to 30 centimeters in diameter.
The exterior of the fruit is smooth and light green or orange when the flower is mature, brownish and covered with a thick layer of wood fibers surrounding the nut brown when ripe and composed of a solid shell spherical protects an almond white edible.
The coconut is probably from the region Indo-malesia. It is now naturalized in most tropical countries.
Description of the coconut.
The coconut palm is one with a sharp core. It can reach a height of 25 m, the trunk ends with a huge crown of feather-shaped leaves: the palms. The coconut palm grows mainly on the coastal plains of the tropics, wet: areas of upwelling groundwater or stagnation of rain water.
For all varieties of coconut, fruit organization is similar. Epidermis, first colored and gray-brown at maturity, around a tough, fibrous envelope called “fluff.” It surrounds a shell, dark brown and very strong, which adheres strongly to the flock. Oblong to spherical, it is strengthened by three longitudinal ribs more or less marked.
A thin layer of reddish brown, the seed coat, forms a link between the hull and a white endosperm, shiny, 10 to 15 mm thick. The endosperm is commonly referred to as the almond. Inserted in one of the three germinal pores, is an embryo of about 5 mm long. Opalescent liquid and sweet takes up three quarters of the internal cavity. It is commonly called “coconut water”, the term “coconut milk” is preferably restricted to a whitish liquid extract of the grated almonds and pressed.
Germination of coconut lasts between 4 and 10 months.
The coconut gives its first fruit at the age of 5 or 6 years, and reached its maximum production at the end of fifteen years. Adult can bring a coconut tree 50 to 500 coconuts. From the age of 50, his production drop significantly.
Harvest can occur on green fruit directly into the tree, or gathering of ripe nuts fall to the ground. It takes about a year before the coconut reaches full maturity.
Food uses of coconut.
The coconut is rich in potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and zinc.
This gives a good nutritional value.
When the fruit is green, the water it contains is consumed as a refreshing drink: after storage in a freezer, the nut is opened after “stem” of three machete cutting a lid. The fruit for this purpose are selected based on their weight, and agitated at the ear for the presence of liquid.
Blackberry, almond, coconut is edible and used as an ingredient in many recipes because of its tropical characteristic scent. The seed of the coconut that grows by occupying the space left by the coconut water is also edible. It takes a round shape with a thin layer of yellow.
The interior consists of a fibrous white flesh with a sweet taste and impregnated with coconut water.
A coconut can be kept full for several weeks in a cool place. The kernel will keep several days in the fridge wrapped in cling film.
Enjoy your recipe with coconut.