How to Crack Open a Coconut Quickly, Easily and Painlessly
You guys, I am so crazy excited about showing you how to crack open a coconut, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.
It might not look like much, I mean, there aren’t even any pretty pictures to look at or anything…
So what can I possibly be so excited about, you wonder? Trust me and read on. This is PRICELESS!
For the first time EVER, I am sharing a video with you all. And not just any video, a video that I made myself.
Okay, now this was my first time shooting and editing video, so please, go easy on me. The poor quality of the offering won’t prevent you from getting all the valuable information that it is meant to offer. And THAT is what’s important!
You see, I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh coconut with a passion, but I used to never eat it because cracking open that hard shell to get to the precious meat was a task that I deemed quite darn close to impossible to accomplish. I’d tried every possible technique, from using a hammer, saw or power drill, to slipping the thing into a pillow case and smashing it against hard concrete. All very messy (and sometimes dangerous!) procedures that didn’t yield the best results and often left me very frustrated and essentially coconutless, too.
That was until one day, I learned this SUPER EASY AND QUICK technique for cracking open a coconut using nothing but a good old chef knife! Seriously, that method is so easy that, once you’ve mastered it, you’ll be cracking coconut after coconut and will be able to enjoy it in its fresh form anytime you want.
Before you get started, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Hold the coconut firmly in your non working hand.
- Use the blunt side of a chef knife or cleaver to hit the coconut around its perimeter
- Use swift but hard hits (it’s all in the wrist, you’ll get the hang of it!)
- Don’t go using your best knife here, for obvious reasons… (I keep an old $15 blade specifically for this purpose)
- Make sure you work over a bowl to collect all the precious water
- Once the coconut is cut in half, continue hitting it to break it down into smaller pieces
- Use a butter knife to detach the flesh from the shell. Simply slide the tip of the blade between the two layers and give it a little twist.
- Lastly, if you want to, you can remove the outer brown skin with a vegetable peeler.
So, without further ado, here goes.
Hope you enjoy!
And now that you know how to operate these coconuts like a champ, next time, we’ll be making Fresh Coconut Milk from scratch.
You will not believe how good that stuff is…
137 Comments on “How to Crack Open a Coconut Quickly, Easily and Painlessly”
I’m so gonna try this! I finally gave up a few months ago, just dangerous and thought I was going to end up in the ER getting 5150’d….slashing yor wrists while trying to open a coconut doesn’t sound believable!!!
Are you guys crazy? I just tried to do this and now have a bloody finger and a husband that is mad at me.
What happened, Mandy?
I feel I must let folks know about my experience trying to open the coconut as described in your article..I was very disappointed when on the third strike with the dull side of my good Todd English chef knife..the blade broke in half 🙁 ..boy was I shocked and saddened..(it did cross my mind as I pondered the idea) however proceeded anyway..wish I hadn’t..ruined my knife and they are a bit pricey to replace..surely someone may come up with an idea to work in place of the good knives we own..
I haven’t opened very many coconuts but the few I have were with a hammer and messy , this has helped alot .
ThankYou Michael
Glad to hear, Michael! Pleasure is all mine. 😀
use a sledge hammer
Yep, just looking at it, it seems quite dangerous. Tried taking the flesh out with a butter knife once and came really close to poking the palm of my hand with the knife. Do not try this at home, should we say.
Then I guess people shouldn’t try cutting their own veggies at home either because you know, sometimes people cut themselves…
Your sarcasm is not helpful! I too am having a lot of trouble getting the outer shell off the flesh with the butter knife. I am concerned I will slip and put the knife through some part of my hand.
Pop the pieces in the oven for a couple of minutes, they will detach much more easily.
Hi, I just wanted to mention that I scoop my coconut meat with a spoon. So maybe that is a safer option for you.
Just because you are physically inept doesn’t mean other, more capable people shouldn’t try it at home. Dangerous… Oh please!
I suggest keeping quiet or doing some intense exercise. It will allow you to calm down when you have a tendency towards verbal assault. 🙁
lmao you tool
Guys, please calm down! Getting into fights isn’t going to solve anyone’s problems!!! I am reading this article to try and learn how to cut a coconut not to be reminded of how mean and condescending people can be sometimes!😥😥😥
You do know you’re suppose to cut AWAY from yourself right? If you know how to properly use a knife there should be no injuries.
I really like coconuts, thx
I keep seeing useful parallels between the raw food diets & paleo. A lot of paleo folk would benefit from reading some basic raw food techniques, for example, using a Champion-type juicer (they’re pricey but you could find it used on ebay), to put coconut in (or frozen banana) with the “blank attachment” to easily make coconut cream, at least from what I’ve read. Thanks!
I broke my knife. Luckily no one was hurt. This article is bullshit.
Sorry to hear, but the fact that your knife broke doesn’t in any way make this article bullshit. It only means that you didn’t use the right tool for the job. This technique has served me flawlessly for me for years now and I never ever broke a blade. Been using the same one for years, too!
wow, am going to be picking up fresh coconut now for sure,
thanks so much for sharing this 🙂
That is quite impressive! I’ve wanted to try a fresh coconut, but when I saw all it took to get inside of them, I just said, “pass.” lol Now I see a way that looks like something I could do. Thanks for sharing!
Actually, you can skip the step of peeling off the brown skin. It has no taste & probably has extra nutrients in it. Manufacturers remove it so it’s all snowy white & pretty in the bag, but we’ve been leaving it on for years, using it fresh & dehydrating our own, so why do more work than necessary?
Just a thought!
🙂
I totally agree and I tend to leave it on myself… besides, I think it looks prettier with the peel on. I might have to edit that video and add a note to the effect that peeling is totally optional! 🙂
I’ve got an even easier way, put the coconut in a double plastic bag and take the bag by the handles and just keep whacking on a hard sidewalk until it is in little pieces. A lot of times the meat comes off the shell when you do that.
Tried that and it was not a success for me. For one, it’s very messy, you lose all the precious water, and you absolutely have to have access to a slab of concrete. Plus, honestly, I much prefer to crack my coconuts open in the comfort of my own kitchen than in the middle of the street, under the curious eyes of all my immediate neighbors…
Oooo thanks so much for that very instructive video!! I would never have dreamed it is that easy. And I have done just about any method too. Lol… I can’t wait to get my hands on a fresh coconut and try this now!
To better control where the liquid flows..I would suggest what my Great grandmother did to remove the liquid..She poked holes in each of the three eyes of the cocoanut with a large sized nail and hammer..then merely poured or shook the water into a bowl..far more controllable..I actually didn’t know that everyone didn’t do this until I read this article..LOL….
I did the same thing (3 holes) and poured liquid into a bowl and it worked perfectly and tasted marvelous. Then hitting one of the holes with a hammer split it perfectly!
Just beware if you are using a good knife that the blade may break…as mine did.. 😉
Just this from an experienced knifemaker, unless you were using a Japanese blade or a knife made for a specific purpose besides coconut cracking (something other than a kitchen knife) a good knife will not break. The only way a knife will break instead of bend (and this is in any direction, side to side or front to back) is if it is a poor quality knife, was made with lower tempers steel (Japanese blades and other purpose specific blades made for high edge retention and low impact use) or was misused to workharden the blade (lots of prying or years of coconut cracking).
My knife blade went flying in the air while I was still holding the empty handle. That was not expected . Moral of the story: Don’t use a few years old, relatively cheap knifes?
Yikes! Yes, that, or your super expensive Japanese blade 😉
Thank you!!!! BEST video I’ve watched! The others showed how to crack it like that, but not how to crack it into smaller sections so the meat would come out easily. LOL…. it WAS mission impossible! Took me hours & sore fingers, but I managed- ONCE! Now I will try it more often, nothing beats fresh coconut!
Wow, thanks a bunch for your kind words, Becky, this is music to my ears! Let me know how it works out if you do give this a try! After a couple of goes, you should be able to do this with your eyes closed (or, well, almost… you still want to keep an eye on that blade!)
I used a wine bottle corkscrew in one of the 2-3 dark spots to remove the fluid first! Just like screwing into your favorite wine or champagne.. screw in and pull out, then drain fluid into a cup. Then you can pop open the rest, without quite as big mess.
Thank you so much for posting this! I have 4 coconuts sitting on my counter top right now, but I haven’t felt like going outside in the 20 degree weather to crack them open. Now I don’t have to! I’m trying this tonight!
AWESOME!!! Let me know how it went! 🙂
Sonia, you’re a genius! This method is SO much easier than going outside and whacking it on the concrete to open them. Before cracking them open, I always poke through the weak “dot” to drain the water out (then I strain it through a coffee filter). The 1st coconut stayed completely intact, with the hard shell removed. Something I’ve never seen before. The 2nd one cracked in half, and I accidentally dropped one side into the dog’s dirty food bowl. Bummer. And the last 2 were moldy & gross on the inside, but that is my own fault for leaving them on the counter for a month. Now that I know how to open them easily, I’ll never let them go bad again!
YAY! So happy to hear it worked well for you! No need to make a spectacle of yourself anymore when you want to enjoy fresh coconut! Or to make a big mess…
And really. Major bummer about that dog bowl thing. To ruin perfectly good coconut like that. Hmpft. Of course, you couldn’t have dropped the moldy ones, nooooooo, it HAD to be a good one. Pffft. How totally unfair! 😉
Awesome video, I can’t wait to try this method! Any tips for picking out a fresh coconut? I always seem to get the rotten ones :/
Yeah, that seems to be a problem for me too, sometimes… Always pick a coconut that feels heavy for its size. If it’s light, it means some of the water has leaked out, and that is not a good sign. The heavier, the better. Also, look for a coconut that is exempt of visible cracks and, well, obviously mold… I find I have more success with the smaller guys, too. And I always buy 2, just to be on the safe side!
Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! You make it look so easy! I’m going to have to try this!!
My mind has been blown.
Thanks for making this video!
HAHA! And thank you for your putting a smile on my face! 🙂
I am getting a couple of coconuts as soon as I leave work. Maybe then I will stop mourning my AroyD coconut milk cans !
Have you ever been to Marché Hawai, Manon? They have the widest selection of Coconut milk EVER and they do carry AroyD, in both can and carton format. That’s where I go to get my precious Savoy and always buy it buy the case, since, sadly, this store is no where near home for me…
While you’re there, you’re probably gonna want to stock up on a whole bunch of other things, too. Trust me, comme on dit en bon français, ça vaut le détour! 🙂
I use a steak knife with a thin tip to cut out the soft eye and drain the water. This helps prevent spills. I put it in icecube trays and use the cubes in smoothies.
There is a tool you can use to shred the coconut RIGHT IN THE SHELL! This saves tons of time, particularly if you make a lot of recipes, coconut milk, butter etc. You can check it out on my blog:
http://how-do-you-open-a-coconut.blogspot.com
Any good Macaroon recipes with raw coconut?
Oooooh…. macaroons with raw coconut! Now here’s something I need to work on! No recipe yet, Steve, but I get the feeling that there will be one soon! 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!
You obviously don’t know any asian, because we’ve been opening coconuts with no fuss since the beginning of time, lol. Good video though. We also know how to extract the milk naturally without using any machine.
But great website and thank you for sharing all your fantastic recipes .
Thank you, Maria. And you’re right: I do not know any Asians…
Say, how DO you extract the milk? You got me real curious now! 🙂
AAAAAAAAH – I got up right away to crack open the coconuts siting on my counter. I usually have to bug my husband to open them. I watched him do it but never really figured he had a specific technique. (other than use tools and hit )
First try nothing happened, so came back to watch the video again. I saw this time how you really gotta go round with the knife. Tried a second time and worked like a charm
Of course, they are not good anymore… waiting too long on the counter. But that doesn’t have to happen again, i don’t have to wait for anybody anymore to open them.
Too bad about the coconuts gone bad. Next time, you can easily crack them open as soon as you return from the store! I’m telling you, this is so much fun, there will be times when you’ll feel like buying coconuts just so you can crack them open! 🙂
I too have been intimidated by coconuts sitting on the counter staring at me. Then, when they get old and moldy, I get discouraged with myself and vow not to waste time, money and coconuts ever again. Now that I watched your video…I cannot hardly wait to get back to my local farmers market/store to buy a coconut and give this a try. By the way…great musical score you used alongside the video…very relaxing and enjoyable!
Thank you so much for this great feedback, Lory, I greatly appreciate it. Hope you have much success cracking open those coconuts and won’t have to let them rot on the counter from now on! 😀
Without further “ado”? Did you mean adieu?
No, I really meant ado…
Well, I was so excited but….it didn’t work for me. Fortunately, this one had already been “grooved” and labeled easy open. It wasn’t. I sat it on the counter to return after unsuccessfully trying to open it by hitting it along the groove with a hammer. I was so disappointed that I gave it one more try with the hammer. This time I placed it on my ceramic tile floor. Finally it cracked but nothing easy about it.
Any ideas as to why I had such a bad time?
Yikes, look like your coconut was a toughie! Sometimes it takes quite a few hits around the perimeter to get the coconut to crack, but it never fails to give in… just keep hitting, swift, quick hits and turn the coconut a little bit with every new hit. It WILL eventually crack, I swear. Not all coconuts are created equal, some are much easier to clean than others. Hopefully the next one won’t give you such a hard time! 🙂
This is a great video! Thanks. I love coconut and want to start eating it regularly, since I found out it is good for your metabolism. Shouldn’t you rinse off the coconut meat, once it’s out of the shell? I guess it’s what you prefer. For instance, I always rinse off oranges before slicing them, even though you don’t eat the rind. Most people probably don’t.
You can rinse it if you want to, Lauren, although it’s not really necessary… I tend to rinse mine when I peel it, just to rid it of all the little brown pieces that adhere to the flesh, but when I don’t peel it, I see no need to rinse… Hope you have fun (and success) cracking open your coconuts!
I got it open but getting the flesh out was not easy liked you showed. I used a butter knife like you did, but it came off in small little pieces. 🙁
Ha, looks like you got one of those toughies! Once in a blue moon I’ll get one that very uncooperative like that. They usually are the freshest, though, so very well worth the aggravation! 🙂 I usually manage to get decent sized chunks out, still. Just really wiggle that blade real good to get it between the flesh and shell and it usually does the trick.
So do u shred it , bake it or anything else before eating it?
Whacking away with the knife… it’s just bouncing off the obnoxiously undisturbed coconut.
Silly. Using a corkscrew or a screwdriver and hammer, open a couple of holes in the top. Drain the water in a bowl. Heat your oven to 400 degrees and cook the drained coconuts in the oven for 15 minutes or so. The coconut shell will crack making it SO much easier to get open and start peeling.
No whacking at all using this method http://www.butteryum.org/blog/2010/07/opening-coconut-safe-and-easy-way.html
Thanks, Wendy!
Sorry, but it did not work like your video at all. It was HORRIBLE. The coconut shell was way too hard to break. I end up whacking hard on it to get it break, and it shatters a thousand tiny pieces everywhere. The coconut meat does not come off easily at all. It’s a full 30 minutes for one coconut. Just a terrible experience.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you, Westes. I’ve opened my coconut using this technique for years now, and it works like a charm every single time!
This worked well for me… Just a regular old butcher knife and some good aim. I laid mine on the counter and held with my hand. I did about seven HARD whacks and then turned the knife over and whack it and it split open. Thanks a bunch.
Glad to hear you had good success with the technique, Terri. It gets even easier with time. Soon you’ll be cracking ’em coconuts open with your eyes closed! 🙂
Does the coconut need to dry once you are all done?
Doesn’t have to. You can very well eat it fresh! I know that’s what I do!
Coconut stinks
But at least it’s good for you
This is ridiculous. Dangerous, because if the knife flies off the wrong way it could cut the unwary. AND it doesn’t work. I did it exactly like the video, and nothing. Not even a crack. Broke a very sturdy knife, too.
Well, after my tantrum last night I finally got the coconut open. But I had to use my sharpening steel to bang on it AND whack the coconut on the concrete sidewalk outside my patio. The sidewalk whacking was quite painful as the energy from the coconut striking the concrete had nowhere to to disperse except up my arm. Then the shell cracked open momentarily and pinched a piece of one of my fingers in the crack. I have a laceration and a bruise there. I also have a little hole in another finger from where I had to dig a “coconut splinter” out of it.
HOWEVER…once I saw the crack around the middle of the coconut I understood how it can and should be done. After that I whacked it with the steel a couple times and it fell in two just like the video. The rest was easy.
I think coconut newbies might be better served by adding a little more cautionary advice to the video, and possibly a set of newbie tools to ease them into the technique. I couldn’t find my toolbox last night but in the future will use a hammer until I perfect my whacking technique.
This took me 2 hrs for 2 coconuts. I broke my knife on the 2nd one. Even turning and hitting it all the way around, It was almost impossible to find a weak spot that eventually got the darn things to crack and when they finally did i had to use a hammer on the 2nd one since my knife broke before getting it opened and even cracked the 2nd one would not break further to get the meat out. And it was so hard to peel. I wish i’d read the comments about leaving the peel on.
It was def not easy and I would not recommend this to anyone with a knife that is pricey. Luckily i used my Faberware and not the expensive one I got only yesterday (nice timing).
Now I have coconut bits all over my kitchen too because with each hit with the knife bits of brown shell flew every which way. Then when peeling some of those littler buggers slid out. I am not a great peel pro so peels flew everywhere too.
I used the cheesecloth to wring the excess liquid out so i got the meat pretty darn dry.
I will try the oven option next time that was mentioned. Only thing is will that heat the wster and meat inside and ruin the raw benefits?
On the other hand the milk turned out delish and I will make again. Thanks!
Once cracked i punctured a hole in the soft eye and the water drained easily.
To dry the coconut do i lay out overnight? Should i cover with a cheesecloth? And how do you make flour?
hi …. thank you for sharing. i live in the caribbean and we use alot of coconut milk here. just wanted to mention that if you’re just going for the milk then you dont NEED to scrape off the thin brown layer… just strain the milk through a fine strainer when you’re done…. even easier… i do this all the time.
Good to know Candice, thanks much for the info! 🙂
This method worked perfectly for us! Coconut is usually a major pain, but it was open on seconds and the meat was out of the shell in about 5 minutes. Thanks for the great video!
Happy to hear, Sydney. The pleasure is all mine! 🙂
Ok, people, this looks a lot better than smashing it on the sidewalk! The video was great. But I can solve some complaints here. Why is your coconut sitting on the counter anyway??? I freeze all my nuts to keep them fresh and coconut is no different, and it does not change the texture or the quality of the nut meat, IMO. I discovered another advantage to freezing coconuts here that will help everyone. As soon as I bring my coconut home, I throw it in the freezer. The water inside the coconut freezes too, and as we all know, water expands when it is frozen. The frozen water in the coconut forces the shell to crack. As well, (I learned this from freezing unshelled Brazil nuts) that after a good freezing, the nut meat “shrinks” away from the hard shell, making it super easy to remove. I have done this several times and it always works. Along with the knife trick, it would make the job pretty easy. It is a bit difficult to get the water separated this way, but knocking it with the knife might help, or maybe just scraping it out with a spoon. Honestly, I really don’t like coconut water, so I don’t save it. Also, I found peeling the skin off the coconut was easier with the pieces still frozen, if you don’t mind your hands getting kind of cold.
Nope so sorry still didn’t work for me, i actually yoked it on my head before i managed too don’t ask not related but basically the knife to hit the coconut with did nothing it was strong AF!
Hi, I did exactly what you said, and it worked!! Just made a Heat Wave Smoothie with coconut water, coconut meat, along with some leafy spinach and other stuff and it turned out to be delicious. Keeping electrolytes in you to prevent dehydration during a heat wave is so important…….. Thanks for sharing this easy way. I use to just hammer the coconut and it’s too darn hot for that behavior…… Thanks again.
Yay! Happy to hear the technique worked for you, Ann! *high five* 😀
I have been a Pro Pastry Chef for over 30 years in hotels, restaurants and resorts. I would never train anyone on my staff to handle a knife in this fashion. A knife was never designed to be to held in such a fashion. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
I would never dream of using my good blades for this purpose… but a cheapo $15 chef knife? If it’s going to serve me that well? You bet I will!
I am not a strong person and I found this sooo easy. I did poke the knife in one of the eyes first to get the water out. It’s just less messy. Thanks for the handy video.
You are very welcome, Katherine. Glad it works for you! 🙂
Brilliant video.
Now I can use the lovely coconut grater I bought after I just cracked open the coconut as shown. I love shredded fresh coconut and would really be hesitant to put the chunks in a blender or mincing machine. This will be so much quicker.
Thanks so much for that.
You are very welcome, Hena. 🙂
Thanks for giving me an easy way to open a coconut. I drilled a hole and drained it first, then I threw it in the oven on 300 and cooked it for ten minutes. It dried it out enough that when I hit it around the center it cracked open and detached from the shell to
Thank you Sonia. You are the man, I mean the woman!
It worked great but as Mandy said earlier I too almost hurt my hand. In other words you still need to be careful. Some coconuts are harder then others. I recommend eye googles to protect your eyes from the pieces that break loose and perhaps a very thick vinyl glove to protect your hands.
Next time I need help in the kitchen I’ll be checking you first.
By the way I’m fixing my Toyota Tacoma voltage regulator today. Do you know any thing about a cars charging system ??
Hahaha! You’re too funny, Gabe. Unfortunately, I know NOTHING about cars… Just fixed my dishwasher, though, and I’m just about ready to tackle my gas range. The spark igniter switch and harness assembly need to be replaced… Hey, that’s kinda like part of cooking, isn’t it? 😉
Oh, and a neat trick to help with the stubborn pieces of coconut that get stuck to the shell is to send said pieces for a short trip in the oven, just to dry them out a little. They should then detach like a charm. 🙂
A trick I found works better with the stubborn coconuts, use either a small ball peen hammer ( with the round part in the back, rather than the claw) or some other blunt heavy object (I’ve also used pliers and rocks) to hit in a circle around the “eyes” like the kind of circle opening the top of a pumpkin. You might have to pry the top off but it seems like that part is easier to crack than the middle on some of them, then you even have a little cup for the coconut water. If you’re really good you can make little coconut rings by working your way down the coconut from the top.
What I do is open it at one of the eyes with a wine bottle corkscrew. Then poke a hole a small plastic bag, put the coco in it, align the hole of the coco with one on the bag, and put this on a glass to let it drain. The bag is not contanimate the glass of coconut water with pieces from the outer shell. Then even with a butter knife or just a mallet hit it around on the same line. It’ll crack like you mentioned. To separate I cut out a finger-wide section from the middle of each half, this eases pressure on the remaining sides of the coco meat so they come out easily. I peel the thin skin with a peeler.
I wanted to make a coconut smoothie, but it takes forever with a blender to chop it and it’s not perfect without draining the juice from the shreds. I’ll try in a fruit press/squeezer machine. The one that can make peanut butter out of peanuts. I’m interested in what it’ll do to coco pieces.
It worked!! Thank you SO much!! It took a few extra whacks but once it cracked I was all set.
Worked for me! It took a few wacks to get the hang of it, and it didn’t feel great on my hands- but once it was in pieces, the flesh peeled out nicely. Of course, on the first split, it pinched me and now I have a blood blister. But hey, I’ll just put some coconut on it. Next time, I’ll be sure to wear gloves. 🙂
Haha! Real sorry to hear your coconut attacked you like that! I guess wearing gloves can’t be a bad thing… 😉
I used a hammer instead of the knife, but it was way easier and do-able than banging it around the kitchen or trying to soak it in water for a day! Thank you! 🙂
got to be pretty stupid to try something like this lmbao! i was like wtf all the way thru. i cant believe some females actually tried this. and the female whose husband got mad at her………………………….well obviously….duh!
Thanks for the tutorial although I’m not sure it’s totally painless… In an unlikely turn of events, the coconut shell cracked slightly and trapped the top my baby finger. I had to get my mum to pry the coconut open and release my finger. It was agony but funny upon reflection ?
Oh my! What were the odds? I hope that the rest of the process went without a hitch and that the coconut was good!
Hi, check out this guy failing to open a coconut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RqRorQ0HMM
I am sure he did not check this article!
Such an awesome and handy video. So simple. Thank you!!!
Absolutely, Nicole. You are very welcome! 😀
This worked quite well. I used the back of my meat cleaver, because it’s the heaviest sturdiest blade I have. Worked like a charm. I noticed from the comments that some people had problems with prying the flesh from the pieces with a butter knife. I found that sometimes you have to do the poke and twist in one part, then do the same thing at a different part of the piece. After 2 or 3 iterations, it came off easy without much effort.
Not sure why, but the first coconut opened just fine with this technique.. but I’m not being able to open the remaining 3 for the life of me! Is there anything that may help?… Thanks!
It’s all in the wrist, Teresa. I’ve never had one resist this technique. Go with swift but hard hits and get it smack down in the center. It may end up taking many many hits, but it will eventually give, I promise.
Hope this helps and keep me posted.
This method works every time, clean and simple, love it, thanks for sharing, Sonia 🙂
Super happy to hear that it works for you just as good as it works for me, Valeria! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
We getting nice information through this blog.
It’s Greate and Very Helpful.
Thanks again and keep up the great work!
You should specify whether or not this only works for pre-scored coconuts. I have a tool designed just for opening coconuts. It doesn’t work on the ones that aren’t pre-scored.
Pre-scored coconuts? I didn’t even know that there existed such a thing! This technique definitely works on normal coconuts, although I’m guessing that it would also work on pre-scored coconuts, only it would be even faster!
The pre-scored ones are often found in grocery stores. There is already a line on them. The ones in produce markets and such are sometimes not pre-scored. I have this http://www.vacuvin.com/Coconut-Opener, it’s similar to using the back of a knife but wood covering the area that could be dangerous on a knife.
I just did this and it worked perfectly. I don’t know what so many others did wrong, but I just followed directions. Google shows me I can leave the brown skin on?
Great, less work and more fiber. Adios!
Ah but of course, you can leave that skin on, if you want to. Glad to hear the technique worked just fine for you too! 🙂
I would still go with small hammer instead of my beloved chef’s knife. Why break it (say after 50 coconuts) when the hammer does the same job. But thanks for this video as it helped me with my first proper coconut cracking. (I had some inproper ones in the past).
I have a cheap “dollar store type” chef knife that I use for the purpose alone. Works like a charm, and if it ever breaks, I won’t shed a single tear… No way my precious Japanese blade is ever touching the hard shell of a coconut!
Glad you enjoyed the video! 🙂
Thanks. Got it done in four strikes and I am 72!
Haha! Awesome! High five!
So I quickly watched your video hoping for something mpre expedient than what I did today, but unfortunately was bombarded by a trail of negativity on my way to comment. First I’d like to say, good job that you made your first video???? I do think I’ll stick with baking my coconuts at 400°F until they crack and then popping them apart. I honestly have no idea how you got your coconut to open so easily with the back of your knife…I used a hammer for a good 15 minutes and the dumb thing would NOT crack! Thank god for the oven! I also think people should be more respectful of others on all sites and not make fun of people or their concerns when it comes to knives. While you as the blog writer aren’t in charge of how people respond, you are in charge of what you put out. I think you should consider the danger of telling people that using the back of knife (which could easily break and go flying and therefore hurt someone) is irresponsible. You don’t always have adults that know how to use knives on your site, you could have a very young kid who wants to open a coconut and if they got hurt, that would be your fault. I’m honestly not trying to judge because I make cooking videos frequently, however I try to make them appropriate for everyone and not dangerous.
Great video. I used the back of my meat cleaver and “wha-lah” coconut water! The flesh also came out easily with a butter knife. Now show us a good method for pomegranate:)
Hahaha! Perhaps I should get on that… I haven’t figured that one out, yet. I’ve yet to try a method that really does the trick. They’re all way too messy and so much trouble, too! :/
You’re all doing it wrong. First find the face. Poke a chopstick in the mouth to drain out the water. Then there is a ridge that runs from between the eyes all down the back to the butt. That’s where you want to give it a few good wacks with a hammer. Just opened my first coconut this way with 3 hits of the hammer. Popped right open.
That’s awesome, I’m real happy to hear you have an alternate method that seems to be working better for you. Thanks for sharing it. As for myself, I think I’ll keep doing what works for me… 😉
So glad to learn this! Thank you! I love coconut water. Going to make coconut milk next!
Laura
Thank you so much. I owe you my life. It couldn’t be easier than this. So happy to make Pina colada from scratch with this fresh Coconut.
Hahaha, you are so very welcome, Insha. Be sure to have one of those Pina Coladas for me! 🙂
I was having trouble cracking it with the knife so went out into the garden and got a sharp rock. That worked perfectly!
Hey, have you seen those malam hawking coconuts that have been separated from the hard shell and cut to small pieces on the street with their wheelbarrow? call them and buy one that has not been separated from the shell and ask them to remove the shell for you. watch them do it with the simple instrument they use and you will know how best to separate the shell from the nut.
Didnt read all comments so I might be repeating someones suggestion, if not, feel free to use it. Use pliers or vice grips and clamp down on piece of shell, then pry meat off{ in an away direction} added that cause of some comments you got. I laughed real hard at your reply ” people shouldnt cut their own veggies at home” HAHAHA!!
Hi Sonia, Thanks for your video on how to break open a fresh coconut. Also read the comments where many had accidents trying to open. I have to agree with them as the method is a bit risky. I would agree, a knife per se is not the best tool to crack open a coconut. All knives are not strong enough.
Let me start by giving my background. I am from South of India where coconut is part of everyday cooking. Commonly we have two methods of opening a coconut:
One is the crude method where you knock the coconut on the edge of a pavement or rock to crack it open just enough to collect the water in a bowl, then continue to break it open further and pry out the flesh with a knife as you did. Accidents do happen with this method where the knife may slip onto your palm; or the flesh of your palm gets stuck in the cracks of the coconut shell as you knock.
The second method is, using a heavy chisel like tool with a heavy head and chisel end, completely metal. The head side is used to knock the coconut and the chisel end to pry out the flesh from shell. Instead I use a light hammer in my British kitchen. The technique is in tapping the coconut. First clean out the coconut of its loose fibers. Hold the coconut on your palm and with the hammer keep knocking it all round. The idea is to loosen the flesh from its shell. The knock should be hard , but not hard enough to crack it open. Even it if happens to crack, simply pry open a bit and collect the water and continue to knock around the whole coconut. Then with the right knock you will see chunks of the shell falling away. By the end you will get the naked flesh of the coconut as a whole, with its brown skin but without the shell. You can put this on your chopping board and cut it open.
The second method needs getting used to. Its very successful and you can cut the pieces to your desire. We usually cut triangular pieces and store in in the freezer. When ever you wish to use, pop the required number of pieces into a bowl of warm water and you have fresh coconut.
Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share. 🙂
Absolute load of rubbish.
Posted for likes or whatever..
Please no one attempt this! It does not work and is likely dangerous!