How to open a coconut

This instructable will show you how to open a coconut with just a hammer the stylish way. I learned this method last year on a sailing holiday.

With this instructable i want to say thank you for the nice sailing trip through the Yasawa Islands in Fiji.

This is my first instructable so please be gentle with me. I'm also a non native english speaker so please correct me where i use inappropriate words.

Step 1: Gather your materials

All you need is a hammer and of course a coconut. The screwdriver is not needed. (Picture 1)

If you got the coconut in a store it probably comes already "bare" so you can skip the "peeling" step.

I got mine from directly under a coconut palm, so i had to peel the bast off (Picture 2, it is the Blue lagoon, yes the one where they made the film)

Comments

[Misac-kun]

A hammer, is something i must add to my Emergency Kit.

[dgonzales-vera]

Great. I will have to try this. Your instructions are perfect. Thanks.

[raziz]

errr.. you grind the white meat, you can add a little water then squeeze the ground meat to get "coconut milk" and mix with something else in a drink, the water inside the shell it the isotonic "coconut juice". if you poke a young coconut, the juice will squirt out and the best one will taste carbonated/fizzy.

[Foaly7]

Is there anywhere you can buy a coconut with the husk still on it?

[uwe]

Sorry, I have not seen them in shpos with husk. But maybe there are some specialized fruit shops ...

[steed1172]

that ain't how you do it...... u smack it right in the middle! (make sure u do this over a bowl or something, otherwise you will get milk all over the place)

[Foaly7]

Please note: Coconut milk is an ingredient made from coconut juice, not the liquid already in the coconut. The liquid in the coconut is called coconut juice or coconut water.

[uwe]

Thanks for the clarification

[krowii]

This method is a bit neater. I've seen another method where you use a sharp stick to crack a line along the circumfrenece of the coconut. I think that was on Man vs. Wild lol.

[sharlston]

i always cut coconut right in half with my homemade axe

always works your method works good aswell

[bdahl]

where is the clue?

[manadhon]

this is going to be very useful if your stranded on a deserted island

[casey321b]

not if it doesn't have a coconut tree T.T

[chadtaylor]

Hey, thanks for demystifying this for me! I just picked 8 coconuts from the trees in our yard in Mexico. Using just the claw side of the hammer I stripped those babies down. Then I used a power drill to make small holes in the nut -- one at each pole -- and the water just poured right out. It made a half-gallon of coco water and about a pound of the sweet meat. I found that after draining the nut of its water, the hollow nut is easy to crack into 2 halves, like little bowls, by smacking it against a hard surface. It cracks right around its little equator almost every time. Now, on to the coconut ice cream!

[canno]

great next time i get a coconut i know how to open it xP if my parents ever let me near a hammer XD 5/5

[careylyn]

This is great advice... what a concept! Tapping in a circle. I love it... you can save the main of it & mix a boat drink inside :)

[wupme]

And i always used a powerdrill to create a hole (to drink the milk), and then a big screwdriver to break it open (with raw force). I never actually thought about this method, but i used it before for other things, like breaking bottles in my hand (Kids DONT TRY THAT AT HOME).

[lesrebnav]

hello, nice instructable here in new caledonia ,where I living, we use a pickaxe blocked in a rock or a mining bar, or to give some eat to the pigs we use an axe tu cut in two separate elements. (sorry too for my no-native english) thierry

[Kiteman]

Good job - all the excuse I need to buy a new hammer!

[skidude28]

Hah. Quite an interesting reason.

[Czyne]

Handy instructions. I always either used a power drill or a hammer to whack a screwdriver into it so I could drink the juice with a straw, then threw it on the ground until it split open - of course none of mine ever came with a bast. Your method is far more efficient.

[damax3000]

great job this is very helpfull ha those coconuts are really ripe

[smashbob]

coconuts are AMAZING! this is an easy way to open coconuts. thanks. good english. good instructable also.

[Lemartes]

Mmkay, so I opened my coconut... how am I supposed to EAT it? At least I can still make Monty Python horse FX.

[smashbob]

are you suggesting coconuts migrate? i suppose a swallow could have carried it. its not a matter of gripping it…

[noname420]

shes a witch burn her

[Dungeonbrownies]

All you neeed is patsy for your clippity clop advetures.

[RedneckAsian]

wood floats like???

[cowscankill]

Nice Instructable! Your English is very nice, and easy to follow. This may come in hany one day... +5!

[SnuffyDaPenguin]

Nice instructable, i liek this one, it's nice to know...I almost stabbed myself several times, my dad's way. (requires holding the nut between your feet on the ground and leaning over ti with a power drill :\)

[kaiga]

I tried opening my coconut by putting it in a vice first then drill it , but i tightened the vice too much and it made a really loud crack that was slightly louder than a 20 gauge shot gun. I still got the meat but i was scared

[gmoon]

Hey, thanks! This really works... I whack it with a file instead of a hammer, great results...

[Obsessive]

Nice. I "love" coconuts. I sometimes eat packs of coconut shreds by the spoon full. : )

[homebowyerboy]

you can do it with a quick, strong rap with the back of a butter knife too. That's what they do in Samoa.

[alissia]

haha yes it is called meat silly

[paulaboub]

If you dunk it in boiling water for a minute and then cold water, the meat will separate from the shell. Works on brazil nuts too.

[tcabeen]

I agree with everyone that it's "meat" or "flesh. Great instructable, and great pictures. I especially loved you pointing out the pumice. I live in Miami, where coconuts are easy to find. The last one I opened was with a dull machete, and it was very difficult and messy. The hammer is a great idea. I was going to try it with a sharper machete next time (the way I've seen it done here) but you've changed my mind. :D

[Lemartes]

If you want to use something sharp, try a Parang. It's heaviest at the center, so it's probably perfect for this.

[darkmuskrat]

This is great, last time i was in Cancun it took me 2 hours with a spoon to open one. this might have helped :P

[jessyratfink]

This is so neat! I love eating coconuts... but getting them open was always so hard before now. I honestly used to take them out onto my grandmother's sidewalk and throw them down until they broke. :P