Fresh Coconut water from the coconut - tastes salty - coconuts gone bad?

So, I bought four coconuts from a grocer that carries some produce that's a little on the exotic side .

And I opened them up today, to make fresh coconut cream and milk. Opening them up is a whole story unto itself, because coconuts are pretty damn tough! Coco Loco managed to open up two of them with a hammer, but the third one was like kryptonite. Luckily I remembered how to do it, and had it cracked open, and perfectly split into two in no time flat!

Anyways, one of them had started to go moldy, so we tossed it, and the last one that I opened up was moldy on the inside as well. The two that Coco Loco opened up seemed fine, though. The coconut water was clear, and the meat was white, and was really moist.

But when we tasted the water, as well as some of the coconut meat flesh, they didn't taste sweet at all. In fact, they both tasted salty. I understand that the commercial coconut milks and waters, as well as Coco Lopez, have sweeteners added to them. But I don't think this is a matter of trying something natural without added sweetenrs, I'm thinking that maybe those two coconuts had gone bad as well?

I searched here on TC, but couldn't find any threads on opening up a coconut, what fresh coconut water should taste like, or making home made coconut milk. But from what I have read from doing a quick search on the internet, the coconut water should taste like water with a slight coconut taste, and slightly sweet. I'm assuming that the coconut meat should taste slightly sweet, too? And if it's salty, then the coconut has gone bad? Anyone have any experience with this?

[edited for spelling]

"It's Mai Tai. It's out of this world." - Victor Jules Bergeron Jr.

[ Edited by: Mai Tai 2011-08-01 21:01 ]

Fresh young coconuts, ideally purchased from a reputable source, will be bright white with no mold or exceptionally soft spots on the bottom. To open, use a machete, hatchet, or knife you don't care about. I use a wood shake hatchet (half hatchet, half hammer). Weight is an attribute. Carefully remove the husk (the white part) so you see the wood of the nut. Hit the top in a circle fashion in an approx 2-3" diam with intention but not Conan like force. You want to crease the opening not destroy it. Once you've gone all the way around, pry the top open. The water should be sweet and coconut flavored. Salty is no bueno. Coconuts contain a lot of electrolytes IIRC.

FYI, thai or vietnamese stores carry the best. Also, a golden jamaican rum with fresh coconut milk (nothing else) is sublime.

Also, the coconuts you show look really old. Young coconuts have thin jelly like meat.

[ Edited by: jingleheimerschmidt 2011-07-31 19:21 ]

In doing more coconut research online, I read that if the coconut is husked, make sure to check that the three eyes aren't exceptionally dark or black. They should be a little darker than the coconut, but close to the coconut's color. If the three eyes are black, chances are that the coconut is infected with bacteria. Jungle Trader had me going for a while that mine were infected with the Salt Worm...

I guess there is a trade off for really young "green" coconuts vs ones that have aged a little - the water is supposed to be sweeter in the "green" ones, (especially if it's still in the husk and the husk is really green), but then there is hardly any coconut meat inside, and it's really jelly like. As the coconut matures, you get more meat, but the sweetness is supposed to dissipate a little.

I didn't think that the coconuts that I purchased were overly matured, as their color was a light tan color, and definitely not as dark as the medium to dark brown ones that I see in the grocery stores. Next time I buy these already pre-husked, I'll look for the white ones. My next coconut shopping excursion will most likely be to Berkeley Bowl, unless others can suggest a better place in the S.F. Bay Area. I'm going to try both without and with husks (if I can find them with husks), to see if that makes a difference.

On 2011-07-31 19:20, jingleheimerschmidt wrote:
To open, use a machete, hatchet, or knife you don't care about. I use a wood shake hatchet (half hatchet, half hammer). Weight is an attribute. Carefully remove the husk (the white part) so you see the wood of the nut. Hit the top in a circle fashion in an approx 2-3" diam with intention but not Conan like force. You want to crease the opening not destroy it. Once you've gone all the way around, pry the top open.

Although mine were already husked, I used a similar method to open them. Instead of using a hatchet, I used a long kitchen knife, and whacked the coconut along the "equator" using the blunt side of the knife. It worked perfectly, a crack formed along the "equator", and it took about 30 seconds or less to have it cracked perfectly in half! But next time, I think I'm going to try this method:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWzFn_ciuRU&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods will have them but you'll pay more. There's a Thai grocer in University somewhere too, IIRC. Chinatown in Oakland might be another choice.

Coconut water is made from fresh (green) coconuts. I often drink it, especially after working out because its a natural source of electrolytes and it helps to keep fit - read here about coconut water and weight loss, or another article about coconut water weight loss. i can't say that im a big fan of coconuts but water is quite good.

[ Edited by: Cerentola 2013-09-19 11:33 ]