Blake and Deb in Fiji: Coconuts

I successfully hunted and killed my first coconut. By “hunted,” of course, I mean “found along the road.” It was still a bit green – a sign of freshness – as opposed to the very brown ones you normally see scattered about. Like every good resident of Fiji, Tobi has a machete, or cane knife as they call them here. So I used that to hack away at the husk (the pulpy mass surrounding the nut, which, incidentally, is actually a seed, not a nut) all the while thinking of Tom Hanks’ first encounter with a coconut in the movie “Castaway.” Even with the benefit of the cane knife (which Tom didn’t have) this was no easy feat. But eventually I was able to strip away all that lay between me and nut. This exposed three dark spots at one end which are soft spots in the shell that are easily pierced to let the coconut water drain out. Supposedly, the greener the coconut, the sweeter the water. In our case the water was pretty good, although Deborah has more of a taste for it than I do. She even considers the mild laxative effect an added benefit.

Next it was a just a matter of banging the nut with a hammer to break it into manageable bits, and using a knife to cut the meat from the shell. Apparently, with green coconuts plucked from the tree the meat is really soft and jello-like and can be scooped out with a spoon. Our coconut was too ripe for any such “spoon meat,” as it is called, but the more conventional, harder meat was much to Deborah’s liking. Good thing since I spent a good hour and a half whittling away at the thing. Personally I would have to say I prefer my coconut shredded and cooked as a coating on a prawn, or maybe mixed with chocolate in a Mounds Bar. But that’s just me.