Temple of the golden mountain in bangkok description. What is our life? Just the way! The side views are very beautiful. Artificial waterfalls murmur, lianas hung their branches, shading the steps. Many different flower arrangements, picturesque bushes, bird sculptures and lively

For thousands of years, coconut juice has been renowned for its refreshing properties. It not only refreshes, but also brings great benefits to the human body. Coconut juice is one of the healthiest drinks in the world. Coke juice is a translucent dense liquid with a delicate coconut smell. It tastes like an incomparable drink, with an individual, not like any other juice. In hot weather, no other drink can quench your thirst like coconut juice does. People living in hot and humid climates drink young coconut juice as a cooling and refreshing drink. Young coconuts contain more Coconut water, from about 300ml per nut. During the ripening process, the water turns into white coconut pulp and the juice becomes less.

The coconut palm grows in all tropical countries. Coconut palms grow up to 20 meters in height. Fruiting begins in the third year of life. This is the only type of palm that can feed on salty, sea water. Therefore, many islands and tropical, mainland beaches abound with these palms.

Ripe coconuts fall on the ground or sand and germinate within six months. Coconuts are wonderful travelers. Having fallen from a palm tree into the water, they travel from island to island, from mainland to mainland, across the seas and oceans. Once on land, they take root on any soil or sand, with the only amendment that the shore on which the waves threw the coconut should be warm, tropical, since this tree is very thermophilic.

The coconut palm lives as long as the upper part of the tree, with its leaf stalks, is alive. If the top of a tree is cut down, the tree dies. The fruit of the coconut tree is a coconut with coconut juice inside. Coconut juice is natural and sterile. Water rises through the capillaries of the coconut palm trunk and is finally formed inside the coconut to form coconut juice.

The benefits of coconut juice are undeniable. Low in carbohydrates and sugar, the juice is 99% fat-free. These qualities of juice already determine it to the first position among diet drinks. But there are some other properties of coconut juice that make it truly unique. As a natural isotonic drink, coconut juice has the same level of electrolyte balance as blood plasma and is a universal natural donor. During the Pacific War of 1941-45, both sides of the conflict used coconut juice for the wounded as an alternative to blood plasma.

Coconut juice is more nutritious than whole milk because it contains less fat and no cholesterol. Coconut juice is much better than formula-fed infant formula and contains naturally occurring lauric acid, which is found in healthy breast milk. Due to its unique nutritional properties, coconut juice is an invaluable food during pregnancy and lactation. Coconut juice should be drunk immediately after extracting it from the nut, since when combined with air, the liquid quickly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional properties. Therefore, it makes no sense to use canned coconut juice. A coconut is a kind of thermos, and a natural container for long-term storage of juice, but as soon as a coconut is opened, this container ceases to perform its protective functions for long-term storage, and the juice must be consumed in the near future so that it does not lose its properties.

Since coconut water is a natural isotonic drink, the body does not spend any effort on its processing and assimilation. Coconut juice is an energy accumulator for a person. It contains many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that make it a wonderful natural energy drink. Coconut juice contains less sugar and sodium and more potassium and calcium compared to sports and energy drinks. Coconut juice has a unique chloride content of 118mg compared to most sports and energy drinks. Thus, coconut juice is the best choice for restoring the body's water balance and increasing the energy of the body.

Regular consumption of coconut juice gives the following results:
- reduction of toxins and antiviral action;
- assistance in the healing of age spots, acne and other skin problems;
- getting rid of intestinal worms;
- removal of fatigue;
- natural increase in the stability of the immune system;
- help with diabetes;
- relief from abdominal pain and intestinal disorders;
- increased metabolism and normalization of weight;
- prevention of hypertension;
- prevention of urolithiasis;
- restoration of the acid-base balance of the body;
- reducing the risk of cancer;
- improvement of blood circulation.
- increase in tone.

Applying fresh coconut juice every night before bed to the affected areas of the skin reduces acne, age spots, wrinkles, stretch marks, cellulite, and eczema.

Coconut juice has no known side effects, making it one of the best natural drinks on earth. Drink it and be always healthy!

Do you like liquid or fleshy coconut? Then read what useful properties they contain, calorie content. How to choose and how to open the fruit of this palm tree yourself.

The content of the article:

Coconut is the fruit of a palm tree, which is mistakenly called a nut. This useful product is actually a stone fruit (drupe), comparable to a peach or cherry, for example. Speaking in the scientific language of botanists, the coconut belongs to the palm family, in the class of monocots and the department of angiosperms. Everything that gives a palm tree is used in cooking and cosmetics. The fruit is used for food: juice, pulp, bua (a seedling inside a ripe coconut) and the trunk of the palm tree itself.

Coconut can be considered a symbol of tropical countries. Southeast Asia is considered to be the birthplace of coconut palms. Young (green) and dry mature (brown) fruits are also brought to the Nordic countries and Russia from Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Brazil and other tropical places. Coconut palms thrive on sandy shores, although in principle they can take root in any soil. By the way, not only a small palm tree from its mother-trunk can “take root”, a nut can also begin to grow, which floated in the ocean for a whole year and washed up on the shores of some beautiful uninhabited island.

How to choose a coconut

Initially, you need to choose a suitable palm tree with coconuts, like me ... and then try to pick it, but it’s better not to do this (also like me - in some shorts), because the result was not worth it - torn legs, stomach and arms, and the coconut is so and couldn't break it. However, they hold on tight there ... And its cost in Thailand is only 25 cents :)


There are many varieties of coconuts. In addition to those that are often found in supermarkets - brown (old), there are orange, yellow, green. Shape: round, elongated, oval. Sizes - for every taste. But, not a single kernel inside depends on the size, shape and color of the coconut itself. You can take the largest one and, as a result, when opening it, find a small nut inside. And vice versa - there is little peel, but the nut is large. Therefore, the size of the fruit does not affect the amount of coconut juice in the stone.

The average and most common size of a coconut is 20 x 30 cm long and weighs approximately 1.5 x 2.5 kg. The largest amount of juice is inside the young fruit. It does not depend on the variety, whether it is brown, green or yellow and of any shade and shape. Young coconuts have fresh, edible, and easily digestible flesh. In green fruits, it is soft, you can safely scrape it off with a spoon.


When choosing, it is better to give preference to round fruits with a smooth skin (or less shabby). This is how young coconuts look, tasty, with a lot of liquid inside. When choosing a fruit, you need to shake it to hear the splash of liquid. If it is not there, or cracks are visible on the outside, you should not take coconut. The liquid is tastier in a more mature (dark) fruit than in a green one. Yes, the liquid may be a little less, but it tastes better.

How to open a coconut

You will need a medium-sized sharp knife or hammer. If the coconut is young and smooth, take a knife and cut off a small part where the twig grows, over and over again, as it should be a triangle or square. A hole will appear in which you insert a straw and drink the juice.

The fruits are more ripe so it will not work. Here you will have to knock with the tip of the knife, first from above (vertically) into the flesh, and then towards the slot in the horizontal plane. As if cutting off a slice or a quarter from above. Until the hole appears. And again - insert a straw for drinking.


Pictured is an old ripe coconut


Old brown coconuts are the most durable (we see them in stores). For example, local residents do not stand on ceremony, but simply beat him on the floor until a crack appears, from which the juice is drunk. If such a barbaric method does not suit you, take a hammer and knock on the coconut in a circle. But first, you need to dig a couple of holes in the dark eyes of a brown fruit with a knife and drink the juice.
After the water from the coconut is drunk or drained, open the shell. The easiest way to do this is to insert a knife into a crack and, with pressure, split a strong nut into two parts.

Here are a couple of videos on how to open a coconut:

And here is a video on how to open an old coconut at home with a knife in 20 seconds:


Calories in raw coconut meat per 100 g - 354 kcal:
  • Proteins - 3.3 g
  • Fats - 33.5 g
  • Carbohydrates - 6.23 g
  • Dietary fiber - 9 g
  • Sodium - 20 g
  • Water - 47 g
  • Mono- and disaccharides - 6.2 g
  • Saturated fatty acids - 29.7 g
calories in coconut water per 100 g - 20 kcal.

Vitamins:

  • Thiamine (B1) - 0.07 mg
  • Riboflavin (B2) - 0.02 mg
  • Pantothenic acid (B3) - 0.3 mg
  • Pyridoxine () - 0.05 mg
  • Folic acid (B9) - 26 mcg
  • C - 3.3 mg
  • E - 0.2 mg
  • Phylloquinone K - 0.2 mcg
  • PP - 0.5 mg
  • Choline - 12.1 mg
Trace elements:
  • Potassium - 356 mg
  • Calcium - 14 mg
  • Phosphorus - 113 mg
  • Sodium - 20 mg
  • Magnesium - 32 mg
  • Zinc - 1.1 mg
  • Selenium - 10.1 mcg
  • Iron - 2.4 mg
  • Copper - 435 mcg
  • - 1.5 mg

The benefits of coconut can also be in products made from it. For example, coconut oil. Its use helps patients with hypoglycemia, normalizes the menstrual cycle, and facilitates the course of psoriasis. The oil contains a lot of lauric acid, which kills viruses, harmful bacteria and fungi.

In cosmetology, there are also benefits from coconut: juice, pulp, oil are used. Creams, lotions, gels, soaps, shampoos, etc. are made from them. which are useful and give their vitamins and minerals to our skin and hair.

Video about useful properties:

About the dangers of coconut

If you do not bite the hard fruit with your teeth, then there will be no harm that a coconut would bring to a person. There are recommendations for people who have weak intestinal motility or individual intolerance to the fetus and products from it: use carefully, avoid large portions. And there are no special contraindications for this fetus.

  • Coconut is named so by the Portuguese, from the word "Soso" (coco) meaning "monkey". Apparently they saw a monkey's muzzle on the fruit peeled from fibers. It resembles 3 dark eyes on a fibrous brown shell. Also in Asian countries, monkeys have been specially trained since ancient times so that they learn to climb palm trees and pick coconuts.
  • The coconut tree bears fruit for 50 long years. On a branch, from 15 to 20 fruits ripen in 8-10 months, and in the Southern countries, up to 200 coconuts can be harvested from one coconut tree in one year.
  • Overripe fruits with dried pulp are useful, as are young green ones. The juice of overripe ones tastes like cow's milk, and it perfectly cleanses the intestines.
  • Animals like cats, dogs, and even chicken also love coconuts.

7 reasons to drink coconut juice.

3 (60%) 2 votes

Coconut juice is the number one drink according to vacationers in the tropics.

“Lying on a sunny beach under an umbrella, listening to the surf, calmly sipping coconut juice from a straw - what else do you need from this hectic life, huh?”.

It is this picture that has long become an advertising symbol of a paradise holiday in the tropics. A coconut, a beach and a beauty in a red bikini... But let's digress from dreams and stereotyped ideas for a few minutes. After all, in addition to all this, coconut juice has many useful properties. So you can combine business with pleasure, and this is my favorite combination. Stay in touch - the most interesting below.

Don't confuse coconut juice with coconut milk. Milk is a derivative of coconut pulp, and juice is a clear and pleasant-tasting liquid.

In many countries, manufacturers of sports drugs have already begun to actively promote coke juice as the number one sports drink, and for good reason.

Coconut juice replaces sports drinks and has many medicinal properties. This is partly true. Coconut contains essential substances that the body loses when dehydrated. But it doesn't contain them in the same amount as sports drinks. Therefore, for seasoned athletes, you need to drink a lot of coconuts. And for athletes from time to time, one coconut is quite suitable. Let's not get distracted and go straight to the beneficial properties of these wonderful cokes, or rather juice.

Seven reasons to drink coconut juice and its benefits:

1. Prevents dehydration.
Various minerals, among which potassium, contained in the juice, help maintain fluid levels in the cells of the body and fluid levels in the blood. For the same reason, according to many vacationers in the tropics, this is the best drink during a hangover.

2. It helps the nervous system and brain function.
Since the juice contains an electrolyte (mineral solution), it helps to improve the functioning of the nervous system and prevents muscle cramps and cramps.

3. Heart and kidney health.
Reduces the risk of hypertension, strokes and helps the resorption of kidney stones.

4. Slows down aging.
Contains the substance cytokinin, which protects cells from cancer and slows down aging.

5. Improves digestion.
Improves digestion and metabolism due to the content of bioactive enzymes. Helps digestion of food and medicines.

7. This is a natural product.
The last, and one of the most significant reasons. Coconut juice is a natural product. If I choose a drink between the liquid contained in a tetra pack and the liquid in a freshly broken coconut that grew on a nearby palm tree, then I choose coconut.

I don't know if research has been done and if there is scientific evidence for all these properties. Since I found most of all this information on the net and did not check it myself. But I know for sure that coconut juice is at least not harmful. And from my personal experience, it is excellent at removing thirst. We constantly drank it during our (Cambodia).

As they say, do not let yourself dry out - coconut (C) ...

Coconuts are called nuts, but they are actually the fruit of the coconut tree. For residents of tropical regions, palm trees with coconuts are very important, since all parts of the palm tree and its fruits are used by humans for different purposes.

Appearance

Palm trees, the fruits of which we call coconuts, belong to the Palm family of the genus Coconut.

Palm trees grow to a height of 20 meters and begin to bear fruit from the age of three.

The coconut palm is the only palm species that feeds on sea water.

The diameter of its trunk is up to 45 centimeters. The trunk of the tree is smooth, and at the base it is expanded and slightly inclined, often with supporting roots. The leaves of the plant are dense and long (up to six meters), pinnatisected. The palm tree blooms with yellowish small flowers collected in panicles.


Palm fruits are represented by drupes weighing up to 3 kg, which are often rounded and have a hard surface, and inside are fleshy white pulp (copra) and coconut juice.



Young coconuts contain:

  • outer shell,
  • fibrous part (it is called coir),
  • inner protective hard shell,
  • pulp (copra),
  • coconut water.

By the size of a nut, one cannot tell about its internal structure, because just as there are huge coconuts with a lot of coir, there are also small fruits with a lot of coconut water.

The fruits on the palm tree grow in groups (on average 15-20 coconuts in one group) and fully ripen in 8-10 months. Every year, 60-200 fruits are obtained from one fruit-bearing tree.


Kinds

Many mistakenly believe that brown and green coconuts are different types of nuts, but in reality they are just fruits at different stages of maturity. Green or yellow peel - in young fruits, and nuts become brown after full ripening and appropriate processing (the upper shell is removed and the coconuts are dried in the sun).


Where does it grow

Coconut palms are native to the Malaysian archipelago. Now trees are common in tropical regions of both hemispheres - in India, the Philippine Islands, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand and elsewhere.

They are found both wild and cultivated.

Palm trees grow well on the sandy soils of the sea coast.

The leaders among the production of coconut fruits are:

  • Indonesia,
  • Philippines,
  • India.


Collection method

Palm fruits are harvested either unripe or fully ripe.

The plucked fruits that ripen in the 6-7th month are young coconuts. They have a green shell and a lot of liquid inside.

Coir is extracted from these coconuts - a fibrous shell used in furniture production.

To harvest mature coconuts, the fruits are picked 10-11 months after flowering.

After peeling off the outer layer and drying, the familiar brown coconuts are obtained.

Copra, juice, and other products are produced from such coconuts.

For information on how to properly open a coconut, read our other article.



pulp

What can be done with it?


How to choose and where to buy

You can now buy coconuts in supermarkets, vegetable shops, and markets.

Traveling to exotic countries, tourists often do not miss the opportunity to try young coconuts. In this case, it is better to choose round fruits, since they have more juice than oblong ones.

When choosing a ripe fruit, shake it a little - the presence of a gurgling sound will indicate that the coconut was not damaged during transportation. In a ripe fruit, the pulp separates well and is soft (you can easily grate it). If you had difficulty detaching the pulp from the shell, then you bought an unripe coconut.

Do not buy a fruit if it:

  • with cracks;
  • does not gurgle;
  • covered with spots;
  • has an unpleasant odor.

For how to choose a coconut, watch the following video.

Characteristics

  • Closed coconuts have no smell, open coconuts have a smell, but not a sharp one.
  • From the fruits of coconut palms, a large number of useful products are obtained, ranging from the fibrous shell used in the manufacture of furniture to the oil used in cosmetology.
  • The culinary properties of coconuts are especially in demand. Juice and pulp are added to soups, pastries, desserts, salads, meat dishes, sauces, etc.
  • Coconuts are also used in medicine.

Nutritional value and calories

100 gr. coconut pulp contains:

  • 364 kcal;
  • 3.9 g protein;
  • 4.8 g carbohydrates;
  • 36.5 g fat;
  • 9 g fiber.


Coconut water (juice) from young fruits is a low-calorie product.

100 g of this liquid contains:

  • only 14-19 kcal.
  • less than 1 g of protein,
  • about 3 g of carbohydrates,
  • 0.2 g fat.


Chemical composition

Coconut fruits are rich in:

  • vitamins (C, E, B-groups, H);
  • minerals (all important elements for humans);
  • vegetable fats;
  • fiber;
  • carbohydrates.

Beneficial features

  • Coconut has a high content of organic iodine, which is easily absorbed. Nuts are recommended to include in the diet of people who have an iodine deficiency.
  • Also, the fruits contain a lot of selenium - a strong antioxidant with anti-cancer effects, which also strengthens the immune system and improves the condition of the cardiovascular system. That is why coconut and pistachios are recommended for older people. In addition, selenium is important for sexual activity.
  • Coconuts are rich in lauric acid (it is especially abundant in coconut water and oil obtained from the fruit), which has an effect against viruses and microbes.
  • The coconut fruit is a source of cytokines, known for their anti-carcinogenic activity and preventing the formation of blood clots.
  • The balanced ratio of sodium and potassium in coconut milk makes this drink a good remedy for hypertension and heart disease.
  • Coconuts contain a unique hyaluronic acid of animal origin, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
  • Coconut juice has an antipyretic effect.
  • Coconut-derived products are beneficial for the skin as well as the hair.
  • Eating the pulp of the fruit improves digestion.
  • Due to the influence of coconut on the reproductive system, the fruit is classified as an aphrodisiac.
  • By applying coconut pulp to the wound, they stimulate their healing.

You can learn more about the beneficial and healing properties of coconut from the following video of the program "Live healthy!".

Harm and contraindications

  • diarrhea
  • individual intolerance;
  • hyperthyroidism.

Juice (water)

The juice (water) extracted from coconut should be drunk as soon as it is received, since its healing properties and valuable substances will be lost in the air.


It is a refreshing, satisfying and delicious liquid with many health benefits:

The taste of coconut juice can be different - this characteristic is affected by both the variety of the fruit and the country of growth. Juice can be, for example, cloyingly sweet, sour, sweet and sour.

Application

In cooking

Directly with the coconut itself, recipes are not popular.

Coconut fruits are especially often used in Thai cuisine. In Thailand, coconut is a frequent ingredient in soups, cereals, and desserts. Now coconuts are in demand as an ingredient in various dishes around the globe.

Coconuts and their products are added to:

  • soups;
  • salads;
  • Dessert;
  • creams;
  • cocktails;
  • fish and meat dishes;
  • pies.


Sugar is also obtained from the fruit.

The most commonly used coconut products in cooking are:

  • milk,
  • shavings,
  • oil,
  • flour.

For example, here is one very tasty and popular coconut candy recipe that can be easily prepared at home.

Sweets "Raffaello" at home

50 gr. melt butter and add 400 gr. condensed milk. Add 200 gr. coconut flakes and mix everything. Put in the refrigerator for an hour.

50 gr. put the almonds in boiling water, remove the shell and fry in a preheated oven to 160º for about 15 minutes.

Take the mixture from the refrigerator and form it into balls, placing the almond in the middle. Roll each candy in coconut flakes (for all sweets you need about 50 gr.).


In medicine

Coconuts, thanks to their medicinal properties, help:

In countries where coconut palms grow, their fruits are used for diarrhea, for earache (drops are made from the pulp), ulcers and wounds on the skin (burn the shell and apply ashes). Coconut palm roots are used to make a decoction with diuretic properties and an anti-scurvy remedy.

cultivation

Only fully mature nuts germinate, so a store-bought nut that may have been picked while still unripe may not be suitable for growing.

To germinate coconut at home, put it in a pot filled with earth - the fruit should not be located vertically, but sideways ("eyes" up, since it is from them that the sprout will come out).

Coconut sprouts quite slowly - up to five months. Palm trees need a warm tropical climate to grow.

  • In sea water, the coconut shell is not damaged - if the nuts fall into the water, they can float for a long time, and after being thrown ashore in suitable climatic conditions, they will sprout and give life to new palm trees.
  • Stains that appear on clothes from the fibers of young coconuts are not washed off.
  • The juice of overripe fruits has the ability to cleanse the intestines well. Its taste is reminiscent of cow's milk.
  • Once in India, during the launching of a ship on the water, a coconut was broken on board - if the fruit did not break, this was a bad sign.
  • Palm trees grow in the Seychelles, the fruits of which look like 2 fused coconuts. Their weight can exceed 20 kg.
  • In southern Thailand, trained macaques help harvest coconuts.