Coconut

Cocos nucifera

Lauric acid and saturated fat · the tropical fruit always on the shelf

The coconut is the fruit of a palm. In a supermarket it turns up less often whole than as canned coconut milk, cartons of coconut water, white solid coconut oil, and thin dried slices. Strip the thick fibrous husk and a hard shell appears, with white flesh lining it and clear liquid filling the middle. That liquid is coconut water; the flesh ground and pressed gives coconut milk. The younger the fruit the more liquid and the thinner the flesh; as it matures the flesh thickens and grows oilier. Coconut oil is mostly saturated fat, which is why it sets white at room temperature and turns clear again with only a little warmth. The Donguibogam lists it in the Fruit section as 椰子, describing the form closely: a coarse husk outside like palm-fibre wrapping, a round hard shell within, and flesh as white as pork fat. It marks the entry 【唐】, noting that the fruit comes from very hot country beyond the southern sea.

Where It Grows

Main producer Major producer Latitudes at 25–30℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Main producer The world's largest producing region. The crop spreads widely along the coasts of Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Java.
Main producer It leads exports of copra (the dried flesh) and coconut oil.
Main producer Production centers on the southern coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
Major producer Grown along the northeastern coast for coconut water.
Major producer The growing area is the so-called Coconut Triangle of the western lowlands.
Major producer Production centers on Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta.

The coconut appears to be native to Southeast Asia and the islands of the western Pacific. Its fruit floats on seawater and spread on its own, and people carried it around by boat as well, so it expanded across tropical coastlines everywhere. Outside the coasts between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn the fruit does not ripen, so Korea has no producing areas. A tree begins to bear fruit five to eight years after planting and keeps producing for more than sixty years; there is no set harvest season — the nuts are picked year-round, about once every couple of months.

Optimum: 25~30℃
Range: 20~34℃
Hardiness: Tropical
Day length: Not applicable

This is a tree of humid tropical coasts where temperatures rarely dip below 20℃ and rain falls evenly through the year. It tolerates salty winds and sandy soil, but it cannot survive even a single frost. Flowering and fruiting continue regardless of day length, so a single tree carries fruit at different stages of ripeness at the same time.

How to grow

Light: It needs the sun and heat of a tropical coast to ripen fruit. In Korea fruit is out of reach outdoors and effectively out of reach under glass
Soil and depth: It does well on free-draining coastal sand. It is one of the few trees that tolerates salt water
Spacing: Plantations set the trees several paces apart, because the fronds are large and spread on every side
Watering: Keep processed forms somewhere cool until opened. Once a can of coconut milk is opened, decant it, refrigerate it and use it within two or three days
Feeding: Nothing to tend. Coconut oil takes setting and melting repeatedly without spoiling, but water or a wet spoon will spoil it
Harvest: Nobody picks these from a tree in Korea. Whole nuts, coconut water, milk, oil and dried slices are on the shelves all year

What makes the difference. Choose a whole nut that feels heavy and sloshes when shaken. One of the three eyes on top is soft — pierce that one and pour the liquid off first

Why this one is harder. This is a tropical tree that will not grow outdoors in Korea. Sprouting a nut indoors for the foliage is possible, but growing one to the point of fruiting is out of reach even in a greenhouse

Common problems

Soured coconut water You will see No liquid sloshing when shaken, or a sour smell once poured out What to do Pick one heavy with liquid. If it smells sour or sharp, pour it away rather than drink it
Mould on the shell You will see Damp around the three eyes with black or white mould settled there What to do Choose one with dry, firm eyes. Discard a mouldy nut unopened — the inside may have gone too
Rancid dried slices You will see Dried coconut smelling of crayon with a bitter finish What to do It is oily and goes rancid in storage. Keep it sealed somewhere cool or refrigerated and use it within the marked date

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

The old record — yaja (椰子). The Donguibogam lists it in the Fruit section as 椰子. It says the fruit is the size of a gourd, with a coarse husk outside like palm-fibre wrapping and a round hard shell within. The flesh inside the shell is as white as pork fat, about half an inch thick, and tastes like walnut, with four or five hop of milk-like liquid held inside it. It marks the entry 【唐】, noting the fruit comes from very hot country beyond the southern sea. What an old medical text wrote differs from how it is judged today.

Fat composition of coconut oil. Compositional analyses report that most of the fatty acids in coconut oil are saturated, with lauric acid the largest single share. Melting around 24 degrees and setting below that follows from the same profile. These are compositional analyses and have nothing to do with preventing or treating disease.

Minerals in coconut water. Analyses report potassium in coconut water at levels comparatively high among fruit juices. The same work reports values shifting with the maturity of the fruit and where it was grown. This is an analysis of composition.

Nutrition

Lauric acid (the largest share of the fatty acids in coconut oil) — a twelve-carbon saturated fatty acid
Saturated fat (most of the fat in coconut oil) — the fat behind its setting solid at room temperature
Potassium (present in coconut water) — a mineral common in fruit juices
Dietary fibre (high in the dried flesh) — largely water-insoluble fibre

Coconut water is not coconut milk Coconut water is the clear liquid already inside the fruit; coconut milk is the white flesh ground and pressed with water. Water is thin and clear with almost no fat, milk is opaque and fatty. Read a composition table with the two confused and none of the numbers will fit.

Saturated fat and lauric acid Analyses report that most of the fat in coconut oil is saturated, with lauric acid the largest single share. That is also why it sets white and melts again around 24 degrees. Coming from a plant does not make its fat profile the same as other vegetable oils. This entry stays with the compositional record.

Potassium in coconut water Coconut water carries potassium, and is reported as comparatively high among fruit juices. Anyone managing potassium intake should fix a daily amount. It is mild enough to drink like water, which makes the quantity easy to lose track of.

Dried flesh, fibre and energy Shaved and dried, coconut loses its water and the fat and fibre per unit weight climb sharply. Compare fresh and dried at the same 100g and the numbers look nothing alike. Check whether a composition table is on a fresh or dried basis first.

Pairings

○ Curry and tom yum — coconut milk — Stirred into a spiced broth, coconut milk rounds the heat and gives the liquid body. Poured in all at once at a boil it splits, so lower the heat and add it in stages. Shake the can before opening and use the set cream layer too.

○ Rice and glutinous rice — Cooking rice or glutinous rice in coconut milk coats each grain and turns it rich. Southeast Asian coconut rice and mango sticky rice work the same way. Replace only part of the water, or the rice goes soggy.

○ Toasted coconut chips — A brief turn in a dry pan or a hot oven lifts the aroma of dried coconut sharply. It burns in seconds, so pull it the moment the colour turns golden. Scatter it over salads or yoghurt.

○ Choosing which oil for which dish — Virgin coconut oil carries its aroma straight into whatever it cooks. For a stir-fry or a roast where that aroma is unwanted, use the refined kind. Setting and melting repeatedly does not change its character.

△ Tree-nut allergen labelling — The US Food and Drug Administration classes coconut as a tree nut for labelling purposes. Someone with a nut allergy does not necessarily react to coconut, but that classification is worth knowing when reading a label. If there has been a reaction before, start any new product with a small amount.

△ A potassium-restricted diet — Coconut water is comparatively high in potassium. Anyone managing potassium intake for kidney disease should fix a daily amount rather than drinking it like water in place of a sports drink. Stay inside the range agreed with the treating clinician.

△ Cracking a whole coconut — Hands get cut every year swinging a knife at that hard shell. Pierce the soft one of the three eyes on top with a skewer and pour the liquid off first, then set the nut on a towel and tap around its middle with a hammer, turning as you go. Not a job to hand to a child.

△ The phrase 'healthy oil' — Most of the fat in coconut oil is saturated. Coming from a plant does not make its fat profile the same as other vegetable oils. Treat it as one cooking oil among several and count it into the day's total with the rest.

Varieties

Young coconut (fresh) — The white drum left after the green husk is pared away. Plenty of liquid, thin flesh scraped out with a spoon
Mature coconut (fresh) — The brown shell with fibre still clinging. Thick flesh and far more oil
Coconut milk and cream (processed) — The flesh ground and pressed. Milk and cream differ by fat content
Coconut oil (processed) — Pressed from the flesh. Sold both as an aromatic virgin oil and refined
Coconut slices and chips (processed) — The flesh shaved thin and dried. Eaten as is or toasted

Source: Donguibogam, Fruit Section 椰子 · Korean Food Composition Table