The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word. The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, meaning “grinning face”, from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resembles a human face.
Found across much of the tropics, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Its endosperm is known as the edible “flesh” of the coconut; when dried it is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink and can be processed to create alcohol. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.
Plant
Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 meters (98 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 meters (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. Coconuts are generally classified into two general types: tall and dwarf. On very fertile land a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30 mainly due to poor cultural practices. In recent years, improvements in cultivation practices and breeding has produced coconut trees that can yield more.
Fruit
Botanically the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut. Like other fruits it has three layers: exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp and mesocarp make up the husk of the coconut. Coconuts sold in the shops of non-tropical countries often have had the exocarp (outermost layer) removed. The mesocarp is composed of fibers called coir which have many traditional and commercial uses. The shell has three germination pores (stoma) or eyes that are clearly visible on its outside surface once the husk is removed.
A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.44 kilograms (3.2 lb). It takes around 6000 full-grown coconuts to produce a tonne of copra.
Seed
Within the shell is a single seed. When the seed germinates, the root (radicle) of its embryo pushes out through one of the eyes of the shell. The outermost layer of the seed, the testa, adheres to the inside of the shell. In a mature coconut, a thick albuminous endosperm adheres to the inside of the testa. This endosperm or meat is the white and fleshy edible part of the coconut. Although coconut meat contains less fat than many oilseeds and seeds such as almonds, it is noted for its high amount of medium-chain saturated fat. About 90% of the fat found in coconut meat is saturated, a proportion exceeding that of foods such as lard, butter, and tallow. There has been some debate as to whether or not the saturated fat in coconuts is healthier than other forms of saturated fat (see coconut oil). Like most nut meats, coconut meat contains less sugar and more protein than popular fruits such as bananas, apples and oranges. It is relatively high in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and zinc.
The endosperm surrounds a hollow interior space, filled with air and often a liquid referred to as coconut water (distinct from coconut milk). Immature coconuts are more likely to contain coconut water and less meat. They are often sold with a small portion of the husk cut away to allow access to the coconut water. Young coconuts used for coconut water are called tender coconuts. 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 green young coconut is softer and more gelatinous than that in 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.
When the coconut fruit is still green, the husk is very hard, but green coconuts only fall if they have been attacked by molds or other blights. By the time the coconut naturally falls, the husk has become brown, the coir has become drier and softer, and the coconut is less likely to cause damage when it drops, although there have been instances of coconuts falling from palms and injuring people, and claims of some fatalities. This was the subject of a paper published in 1984 that won the Ig Nobel Prize in 2001. Falling coconut deaths are often used as a comparison to shark attacks; the claim is often made that a person is more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than by a shark, yet such evidence as there is would suggest that the number of deaths due to falling coconuts is small.
A small number of writings about coconuts mention the existence of the coconut pearl. This is generally considered a hoax. Professor Armstrong, of Palomar College, says “most eyewitness records of coconut pearls cited in the literature are secondhand accounts that were not observed by the authors of these articles. There are a few firsthand, published accounts of pearls observed inside coconuts, but these have been shown to be fraudulent.”
Culinary use
The various parts of the coconut have a number of culinary uses. The nut provides oil for frying, cooking, and making margarine. The white, fleshy part of the seed—the coconut meat—is edible and used fresh or dried in cooking especially in confections and desserts like macaroons. Desiccated coconut can be used as an ingredient or to produce coconut milk which is frequently added to curry dishes and other savory viands. Coconut flour has also been developed for use in baking and to combat malnutrition. Coconut chips have been sold in tourist regions like Hawaii and the Caribbean. Coconut butter is often used to describe solidified coconut oil, but has also been adopted as a name by certain specialty products made out of coconut milk solids or puréed coconut meat and oil.
Coconut water
Coconut water contains sugar, fiber, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and provides an isotonic electrolyte balance. It is consumed as a refreshing drink throughout the humid tropics and is gaining popularity as an isotonic sports drink. Mature fruits have significantly less liquid than young immature coconuts, barring spoilage. Coconut water can be fermented to produce coconut vinegar.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk, not to be confused with coconut water, is obtained primarily by extracting juice by pressing the grated coconut’s white kernel or by passing hot water or milk through grated coconut, which extracts the oil and aromatic compounds. It has a fat content around 17%. When refrigerated and left to set, coconut cream will rise to the top and separate from the milk. The milk can be used to produce virgin coconut oil by controlled heating and removal of the oil fraction.
Toddy and nectar
The sap derived from incising the flower clusters of the coconut is drunk as neera also known as toddy or tuba (Philippines), tuak (Indonesia and Malaysia) or karewe (fresh and not fermented, collected twice a day, for breakfast and dinner) in Kiribati. When left to ferment on its own it becomes palm wine. Palm wine is distilled to produce arrack. In the Philippines this alcoholic drink is called lambanog or “coconut vodka”.
The sap can be reduced by boiling to create a sweet syrup or candy such as te kamamai in Kiribati or dhiyaa hakuru and Addu bondi in Maldives. It can be reduced further to yield coconut sugar also referred to as palm sugar or jaggery. A young well-maintained tree can produce around 300 liters (66 imp gal; 79 U.S. gal) of toddy per year while a forty year old tree may yield around 400 litres (88 imp gal; 110 US gal).
Medicinal uses
Coconuts may help benign prostatic hyperplasia. In rats, virgin coconut oil reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, LDL, and VLDL cholesterol levels and increased HDL cholesterol in serum and tissues. The hexane fraction of coconut peel may contain novel anticancer compounds. Young coconut juice has estrogen-like characteristics. Inside a coconut is a cavity filled with coconut water, which is sterile until opened. It mixes easily with blood, and was used during World War II in emergency transfusions. It can also serve as an emergency short-term intravenous hydration fluid. This is possible because the coconut water has a high level of sugar and other salts that makes it possible to be used in the bloodstream, much like the modern lactated ringer solution or a dextrose/water solution as an IV. Coconut is also commonly used as a traditional remedy in Pakistan to treat bites from rats. In Brazil coconut is known as coco-da-Bahia or coqueiro-da-India. The tea from the husk fiber is widely used to treat several inflammatory disorders.
Allergies
Food allergies
Coconut can be a food allergen. It is a top five food allergy in India where coconut is a common food source. On the other hand, food allergies to coconut are considered rare in Australia, the U.K., and U.S. As a result, commercial extracts of coconut are not currently available for skin prick testing in Australia or New Zealand.
Despite a low prevalence of allergies to coconut in the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began identifying coconut as a tree nut in October 2006. Based on FDA guidance and federal U.S. law, coconut must be disclosed as an ingredient.
Topical allergies
Coconut-derived products can cause contact dermatitis. They can be present in cosmetics including some hair shampoos, moisturizers, soaps, cleansers and hand washing liquids. Coconut-derived products known to cause contact dermatitis include: coconut diethanolamide, cocamide sulphate, cocamide DEA, CDEA, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauroyl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Potassium Coco Hydrolysed Collagan, TEA Triethanolamin Laureth Sulfate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Also watch TEA compounds (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl or Cocoyl Sarcosime, Disodium Oleamide Sulfocuccina, Laureth Sulfasuccinate & Disodium Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate.