Coconut Waters

[kokopelli]

Is anyone familiar with Coconut Water (not coconut milk)? I understand that Thailand is one of the leading producers of this product. I recently read that coconut water is a better "hydration" fluid then sports drinks like Gatorade. Great for the day-after?

Has anyone tried it? Is it readily available? Coconut water comes from young coconuts before they mature.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Coconut water is the liquid you find inside a fresh coconut. Coconut milk is made by grating the flesh from a coconut and squeeze it.

[Gaybutton]

Coconut cream: the grated meat is squeezed in a cheesecloth. The resulting liquid is coconut cream.

 

Coconut milk: water is added at the rate of 1 cup per cup of grated meat. The coconut cream will rise to the surface. The resulting liquid is coconut milk.

 

Coconut water: the liquid inside a coconut is coconut water.

 

In other words, when you go to the beach and order a coconut, the liquid you are drinking is coconut water.

[kokopelli]

Thanks for clarification. Besides coming in its nature container, a coconut, is this fluid also sold in bottles, containers etc in the markets? I have seen it advertised on the internet but have not actually seen it in the markets at home. Looking forward to trying it for rehydration after a night out.

[Gaybutton]

is this fluid also sold in bottles, containers etc in the markets?

Not that I've ever noticed in Thailand. In Thailand the coconut is the container. Why not buy some sort of container of your own, then buy a coconut or two, pour the coconut water into the container, and refrigerate it yourself?

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Or just refrigerate the whole coconuts and when you want a drink open it up and drink.

[kokopelli]

Thanks for all the info on coconut water. I sure had a lot of misconceptions about it. There was a recent article in Time Magazine about it and how it is becoming a popular drink in the USA. When in Thailand I often drink Gatorade or other sports drinks but would prefer something more natural and coconut water sounds like a wise choice.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

Better to buy and refrigerate the whole coconut. Once removed from the coconut, the juice doesn't keep very long and it has a laxative effect on your bowels. It is considered "cooling" by most Asians for that reason.

[payless]

Have a look at this Company in Chonburi. I have been dealing with them for a while now and should you want to import a product into your home country they are excellent people to deal with. Merit Foods

 

Have a look at their products just for interest.

[pong]

as mapraow=coconut is such an important elemant in thai cooking-it can be bought everywhere. It also comes in bottles, packets end in dried form or small milk-like packets. And big ones too (1 ltr and more) and big cans.

But thats the cream=meat.

In most supermarkets and even most 7s they sell bottles with the fluid-but thats also meant for cooking. Some soft-drink firms have some item that also holds coconut-as a sideline.In fact-the water is mostly simply thrown away in the factories.

If that water would really replace sportsdrinks etc-I am not so sure. Do as others-if you want to try-buy the nut. (10-20 bt each). And most farang then forget the ask for the spoon to scrape the meat out.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

When in Thailand I often drink Gatorade or other sports drinks but would prefer something more natural and coconut water sounds like a wise choice.

In Thailand there is no need to spend the extra money for Gatorade; you can go to any pharmacy and buy electrolyte powder for about 5 baht a package which makes one drink.

[Gaybutton]

it has a laxative effect on your bowels.

There are times when that might be a positive thing . . .

[KhorTose]

In Thailand there is no need to spend the extra money for Gatorade; you can go to any pharmacy and buy electrolyte powder for about 5 baht a package which makes one drink.

I've done that and agree it is not only cheaper, but a far better drink for dehydration then Gatorade.

[ChristianPFC]

Pong: "And most farang then forget the ask for the spoon to scrape the meat out."

 

I still remember the first coconut I bought for drinking the milk in Thailand, when I finished drinking I was wondering how to get the meat out (without tool, through the hole for the straw, while walking in town), I finally throw the nut away. I could see that the meat is much thinner (approx. 5mm) then in the coconuts you can buy in Europe (approx. 10mm). They look different from outside as well.

 

So I wonder: are there types that are just used for the milk (with only little meat) and others used for milk and meat?

 

I recently saw these milk-coconuts on a market in England, praised as one of the healthiest drinks on earth, looking the same like those in Thailand (and originating from Thailand) for 1.5GBP (1.8EUR, 48THB) each.

 

I remember lots of empty (i.e. no milk, but all the meat left) coconuts in the garbage in Thailand, so obviously no one eats the meat.

[kokopelli]

Again thanks for all the info. I will buy the powdered electrolyte. And for sure the coconuts. But just how does one put a hole in a coconut? There probably is some sort of technique?

[Gaybutton]

I still remember the first coconut I bought for drinking the milk in Thailand

Despite the explanations, you're still going to call it "milk"?

 

But just how does one put a hole in a coconut? There probably is some sort of technique?

Coconuts used for drinking the "water" - that's "water" ChristianPFC - are immature coconuts. It's easy with use of a machete or other kind of heavy knife. If the coconut has matured and the "meat" has become solid, now the coconut is almost rock hard. On one end of a mature coconut you'll see three spots, better known as 'eyes.' One of those 'eyes' is usually soft enough to bore through it with a sharp knife.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

If you order a coconut on the beach you can watch how they open it to get at the WATER and flesh.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I still remember the first coconut I bought for drinking the milk in Thailand...I could see that the meat is much thinner (approx. 5mm) then in the coconuts you can buy in Europe (approx. 10mm). They look different from outside as well.

 

So I wonder: are there types that are just used for the milk (with only little meat) and others used for milk and meat?...I remember lots of empty (i.e. no milk, but all the meat left) coconuts in the garbage in Thailand, so obviously no one eats the meat.

 

GB is right, of course. You cannot get coconut milk unless you have scraped out the flesh of an older coconut and squeezed out the thick, milky liquid from that. What you drank directly from the inside of the nut was the coconut 'water' (as we refer to it in Asia).

 

There are different species of coconut but generally, the kind that you buy for drinking is a young coconut from one of the thin-fleshed varieties (with slippery, softer and slightly translucent flesh). The coconuts whose 'milk' which we use for cooking, are usually older nuts with thicker, firmer and opaque flesh that resembles white nut meat (hence the name).

[Guest]

Electrolyte is also very useful to help you recover more quickly after a bout of diarrhea.

 

Thanks to Stewart, former proprietor of Two Guys for kindly helping me out on that matter.

 

I now try to keep a couple of sachets in my luggage when visiting SE Asia.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I always keep Norfloxacin 400 mg on hand. For food related diarrhea I take 1 tablet twice a day 1 hour before meals for 5 days. The tablets cost only 5 baht each. I also take Imodium to stop the diarrhea and electrolyte drink. This is what was ordered by the doctor the first time I had the problem. I wouldn't be without these in my cabinet now.

[kokopelli]

I checked out Norfloxacin and it seems it is drug of last resort and should not be used routinely otherwise bacteria will develop resistance. But in Thailand who really cares?

[ChristianPFC]

Oh, I see, it's WATER, not milk. And further reading on wikipedia revealed that it's meat, not flesh. And it should be 1.5GBP (1.8EUR, 72THB) in my first post.

 

But I never saw anyone eating the meat. Besides, you have to drink the water first before you can open the nut. The hole for drinking the water is to small to get the meat out.

 

Citation from wikipedia:

 

"The endosperm surrounds a hollow interior space, filled with air and often a liquid referred to as coconut water (distinct from coconut milk). Young coconuts used for coconut water are called tender coconuts: when the coconut is still green, the endosperm inside is thin and tender, and is often eaten as a snack, but the main reason to pick the fruit at this stage is to drink its water. The water of a tender coconut is liquid endosperm. It is sweet (mild) with an aerated feel when cut fresh. Depending on its size a tender contains 300 to 1,000 ml of coconut water.

 

The meat in a young coconut is softer and more gelatinous than a mature coconut, so much so, that it is sometimes known as coconut jelly. When the coconut has ripened and the outer husk has turned brown, a few months later, it will fall from the palm of its own accord. At that time the endosperm has thickened and hardened, while the coconut water has become somewhat bitter."

 

(many more interesting facts)

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I checked out Norfloxacin and it seems it is drug of last resort and should not be used routinely otherwise bacteria will develop resistance. But in Thailand who really cares?

No antibiotics should be used indiscriminately, however if you are having severe diarrhea the benefits of norfloxacin far outweigh the risks.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

And further reading on wikipedia revealed that it's meat, not flesh.

Flesh and meat are synonyms.

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

Oh, I see, it's WATER, not milk...But I never saw anyone eating the meat. Besides, you have to drink the water first before you can open the nut. The hole for drinking the water is to small to get the meat out...

 

Hi Chrstian,

I think water or milk are just descriptive terms as neither is quite true. The use of the different terms was just to make it easier to differentiate between the two things in visual terms - after all, what we call the 'milk' should more accurately be described as 'juice' if we take into account the fact that it has to be squeezed from the flesh/meat.

 

Regarding drinking the 'water' - make sure you get it from a young coconut. The water from an old or older fruit is thinner (looks like watered down glue) and has a much stronger and slightly rancid, oily taste that even we consummate Asian coconut consumers don't like.