How to pick a fresh coconut

Choosing a good coconut: Feel the weight of the coconut. It should feel heavy for its size. Shake vigorously. You should hear a pronounced sloshing sound. You are looking for the maximum amount of juice, it should feel like there is at least a cup of liquid inside moving around freely.


Coconuts have three eyes. Look at the 'soft eye'. The 'soft eye' is the eye that doesn't have the shell slightly raised round one side of it. You can also tell by finding the three "stripes" on the shell. These stripes come together between the three eyes. The angle between the two stripes closest to the soft eye is much wider than the other two angles. Once you find the 'soft eye' check it for any discoloration, it should look clean.


Overall the coconut should look brown without any gray overtone. Check the overall fruit for any signs of staining where there might have been a fracture allowing moisture to seep out. "


Opening the coconut: Using a hammer and a screwdriver, pierce one of the three soft eyes on the coconut shell. Drain off the juice. If saving the juice, strain it to remove any flecks of shell.
Wrap the coconut in a towel. If you've bought a Groovy Coconut, use the hammer and the screwdriver to open the shell. The shell should loosen and break into pieces. 


Pick out the white flesh. The dark skin can be taken off with a vegetable peeler. To make it easier to free the white flesh from its shell, toast the coconut in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.