Coconuts Opening Grating And Liquado Recipes

CRACKING AND GRATING COCONUT

Steps:

• Extracting the meat from a coconut is not as difficult as you may think. Pierce several of the coconut's eyes with a screwdriver or sharp metal skewer. Drain the thin, clear liquid into a bowl and taste it: If it's oily rather than sweet, the nut is rancid and should be tossed out. Bake the whole coconut in a shallow baking pan at 400°F until it cracks, about 20 minutes. When it's cool, wrap it in a towel and break it apart with a hammer. Pry the flesh from the shell with a screwdriver or a dull table knife and peel off the brown membrane with a vegetable peeler. Rinse the coconut under cold water and dry. Grate the coconut, using the medium shredding disk of a food processor or the medium teardrop-shaped holes of a four-sided grater, and chill, covered, until ready to use. -

COCONUT LIQUADO

Steps:

• Hammer a nail through each of the coconut's 3 eyes to puncture. Drain and reserve the milk. Crack and remove the hull by smacking it on its equator. Then, with a vegetable peeler, peel and discard the brown top layer. Break the meat into chunks. In a blender combine coconut meat, coconut milk, honey and 1 cup whole milk. Blend until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups milk and ice and blend until ice is finely crushed. Strain and serve in tall glasses over ice.

TO CRACK AND GRATE FRESH COCONUT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pierce softest eye of coconut with a metal skewer or screwdriver and drain liquid into a bowl to sample (see note, above). Bake coconut in oven 15 minutes.
• With a hammer or back of a heavy cleaver break shell and with point of a strong knife remove flesh, levering it out carefully. Remove brown membrane with a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler. Fresh coconut keeps, chilled, in an airtight container 1 week.
• Grate coconut as needed on small teardrop-shaped holes of a 4-sided grater or finely chop in a food processor. Freshly grated coconut keeps, frozen, in an airtight container 3 months.

COCONUT GELATO

Steps:

• Puncture the eyes of the coconut with a nail, and drain the water into a small saucepan. Using a hammer, crack open coconut. Remove the outer shell and dark-brown skin; discard. Grate flesh.
• Cook coconut water over low heat until reduced to syrup consistency, about 20 minutes. Set aside. In a large saucepan, combine milk and grated coconut. Bring to a gentle boil, cover, and remove pan from heat. Let steep 1 hour. Pass mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing very hard on solids. Reserve strained milk, and discard solids.
• Combine egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Return milk to a simmer.
• Add half of the warm milk to egg-yolk mixture, and whisk until blended. Return new mixture to saucepan with remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Have ready an ice-water bath. Remove saucepan from heat, and immediately stir in heavy cream. Pass mixture through a sieve set over a medium bowl. Place bowl in ice-water bath, and chill. Add reduced coconut water and cream of coconut. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add sweetened coconut flakes, and mix in machine until combined, about 30 seconds. Store in an airtight plastic container up to 2 weeks.