Coconut is one of the fruits with more uses and benefits that you can find. From this, you can get pulp, coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut oil, all healthy and beneficial to ingest, and you can also use it outside the kitchen for its many applications.
Suppose you are interested in getting a coconut or two, or you may already have them. In that case, you may also be interested in how long coconuts last in good condition, how to recognize if they spoiled and how to store them properly; if that is the case, continue reading, and you will find the answers you need.
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How to store coconut
After you have obtained your coconut, you have to plan what to do with it. If it is not within your intentions to use it, you must plan how to save it from using it when you want to prepare or consume it.
To keep the whole coconut, you can store it in a place where it does not receive direct sunlight cool and cool. In this way, you can keep it well for a while. Do not forget that this does not delay the degradation process. It only avoids accelerating it, and so you should try to consume it as soon as possible.
It is preferable to open a coconut to extend its shelf life, remove its interior contents, and store it. There are different ways to do this, and some of them are:
Toast the coconut pieces
Having removed the coconut’s solid content, you can grind it and put what remains to toast in something like a stove or an oven, and you will obtain crispy flakes that are easy to move and store that will last a long time.
Use the liquids to prepare milk
When you remove the coconut water and the coconut meat, you must put them in the blender and let them mix at high speed for at least a minute; the result will be coconut milk that you can store in a jar or bottle.
Refrigerate it
If you are not interested in preparing the coconut in any of these ways, you can add a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the coconut meat, put them in an airtight container, and freeze them. They will last about half a year.
If you do not feel comfortable following any of these processes, we recommend that you buy the coconut the same day you plan to use it. In this way, you can avoid the possibility of it being damaged while in storage.
Can You Freeze Coconut?
Freezing the coconut is one of the best options you can take to extend the time it can last in storage to around six to eight months.
Among the methods to freeze the coconut, the simplest consist of taking the meat of the coconut, adding coconut milk to it, and then freezing it, the other way the previously mentioned, adding sugar and freezing it.
You should always keep the coconut in airtight containers and freezer bags; if you use the bags, you must remove all the air from them after storing it in them. To defrost, you should leave them at room temperature overnight instead of using the microwave.
How Long Does Coconut Last
The coconuts that last the longest are the ones you can get fresh firsthand. Those you buy in stores may take a couple of weeks or months due to the time it may take to transport them from their place of origin to your location.
Buy a coconut in a store. You may find yourself in a situation similar to a Russian freshness roulette because even though at the moment you buy it looks good when you have it at home, it can be damaged as soon as a week passes, so the best thing will always be to use it at the moment.
Coconuts can last a week at room temperature, three in a refrigerator, and six months in a freezer. If you have opened the coconut and taken its contents to prepare it in different ways, such as roasted or turned into milk, they can last between one and three months in the refrigerator and six to eight months in the freezer.
How to Tell If Coconut Is Bad
Determining whether a coconut has gone bad can be tricky because the details that are sought after can take time to appear after they have started to take effect.
To check your coconut, you must see in detail if it has cracks or wet parts on the outside. If you can’t find any of this at first glance, you should pay attention to whether it can still feel liquid inside or mold on the coconut eye.
The ultimate way to find out if it’s spoiled is to open the coconut. If it has a strange color, an unpleasant smell, and the texture looks out of the ordinary, then you should avoid consuming it and getting rid of the coconut to avoid health problems.
Sources:
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