COCONUT

The coconut has to be a top contender for ‘gold’ in the world’s most useful fruit category. It provides us with a food to eat, water to drink, fibre to spin into rope or coir, and a hard shell to turn into a cup or into charcoal for fuel. And if you ever need help to stay afloat, one or two could come in handy. It’s not a nut but rather a type of stone fruit (technically it’s a ‘dry drupe’) that can be processed one way or another to give us pantry staples such as coconut milk, cream or yoghurt, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut flour and desiccated, flaked or shredded coconut. It doesn’t give us coconut sugar or vinegar. These are processed from sap that’s tapped from the inflorescence or flowering spike – as is alcoholic toddy or arrack.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Fresh coconuts should be heavy for their size and have no splits or cracks. Don’t buy coconuts that don’t have any slosh when you shake them – the more water the better.

A medium coconut will give you about ½ cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) of milk and 3 cups (255 g/9 oz) of freshly grated coconut. When buying desiccated, shredded or flaked coconut, keep in mind that because they are oil rich they can easily go rancid – check the use-by or best-before date on the packaging.

HOW TO STORE THEM

Store fresh coconuts in a cool, dry place. Once cut, place the chunks in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Store dried coconut products in a resealable packet or airtight container in a cool, dry place. Some brands recommend storing in the refrigerator or freezer.

WHAT’S IN THEM?

A small piece of coconut (45 g/1½ oz) has 530 kilojoules (127 calories), 1 g protein, 12 g fat (includes 11 g saturated fat), 2 g carbs (all sugars), 3 g fibre and 150 mg potassium. It will have little effect on blood glucose levels, as it is mostly fat and has very little carbohydrate.

WHAT ELSE?

Trendy coconut water, the liquid in a green coconut, has long been the beverage du jour in tropical climes. With its high potassium content, it’s sometimes promoted as a rehydration option for athletes, but it lacks the sodium they need to replace what’s lost in sweat. And although marketed as ‘nature’s tropical hydrator’, it’s no replacement for a glass of water as it’s not calorie free. A 330 ml (12 fl oz) container of plain coconut water has 300 kilojoules (72 calories), less than a gram each of protein and fat, 17 g carbs (all sugars), no fibre, 60 mg potassium and a low GI (55).

HERO RECIPES

Mango, fresh coconut and avocado salad with Thai dressing (here )

Mango salad with fresh coconut and apple (here )