Q&A for How to Open a Coconut

You can eat the meat directly from the coconut after you open it, or use it in any recipe that calls for fresh coconut.

Yes, you can, coconut water is full of vitamins and it’s very hydrating.

If you notice that the water in the coconut is thick, oily, or chunky, it likely means that the coconut is old and no longer fresh. You should discard it.

Yes, you can, but be careful.

Yes, you can eat/drink everything inside the coconut. Coconut water is even bottled and sold in stores.

You can drain the juice from one of the "soft spot eyes" with a hard press on it.

Most people cannot open a coconut with bare hands. And, yes, a coconut can be deadly when falling or being used as a projectile.

The water inside should be thin and sweet, not thick and syrupy. Other than that, it's hard to tell just by looking at the outside. A simple trick I've learned about buying produce from a grocery store is that most of the time, the freshest product is either behind or underneath the rest of the product.

It's not possible to open a coconut with a straw. Trained martial art masters have been known to crack open coconuts with their bare hands, but if you aren't one, don't try.

No, you cannot eat the shell. It is just like eating a peanut shell, or eating tree bark.

No, but when you do open it, you can put a straw inside of it to drink through.

Because it was originally thought to be a cocoa bean pod, but was given the name nut because when the name was created it was considered a nut instead of a seed.

Yes, it is.

Your best bet would be to put it in a bowl, cover it with saran wrap, and refrigerate it.

From coconut trees. You can find these tree at beaches. They are initially green, but slowly become brown when they dry.

Yes, you could, although I would suggest using a funnel to do so.

No, a wooden or metal rolling pin might be able to crack it, but you will send coconut fragments flying everywhere.

If the coconut is still intact (it should come with the shell (batok in the Javanese language)) or just the meat and there is no hole in it, then yes.

No; it changes the texture slightly, but then it hardens again. So if you leave it to cool, it will be like nothing has changed at all.

The taste is neutral, so if you don't have a problem with the taste, then yes. There are no 'toxic' elements in the coconut, so theoretically you could eat the shell (but don't, as it's inedible). It's a matter of taste as to whether or not you want to eat the fibrous part.

Yes, if you’re in a hurry, you can also microwave the coconut. Place it on a microwave-safe plate, and heat it on medium-high power for three minutes.