Honduran Foods and Cuisine: Coconut
May 5th 2009 23:18
The coconut palm is a plant that has so many uses and peculiarities that it has influenced societies throughout the world. What would Hawaiian Tropic smell like if there were no coconut?
Hondurans, especially on the North Coast and the Bay Islands, use coconut in a variety of national foods and local specialties. Coconut is a seed or nut, so it's uses are a little different than your typical fruit or vegetable.
The young fresh coconuts can be split open, and they have coconut water inside. This coconut water is sweet, and isotopic, and according the the Wikipedia page on coconuts, can be used as intravenous fluid, in case you're doing some major surgery on the beach. It is a refreshing and restorative drink.
The young coconuts have more water and less meat. As the nut darkens and ripens on the tree, the water is reduced and becomes more bitter, and the meat thickens and becomes tougher.
Young coconuts are a simple and refreshing treat, with a drink of yummy coconut water and a few mouthfuls of soft meat.
More mature coconuts are used in food preparation as well. Often the meat and additional water are ground up together. This mixture is then strained to produce coconut milk, and the rest of the coconut meat can be used in deserts or even bread.
The coconut milk is used to season a multitude of dishes, including fish, shrimp, conch, lobster, and even beef and poultry. Many of the traditional soups of Honduras are made with coconut milk. This will thicken the soup, and add the palm oil as well, so the consistency of the soup is a direct result of the use of coconut in cooking. Plus it imparts it's characteristic sweet and aromatic flavor.
Ripe or green, the coconut is an important food product in Honduras, in Sopa Marinera, Coconut Bread, Coconut Candy and more.
Hondurans, especially on the North Coast and the Bay Islands, use coconut in a variety of national foods and local specialties. Coconut is a seed or nut, so it's uses are a little different than your typical fruit or vegetable.
Fresh young coconuts
The young fresh coconuts can be split open, and they have coconut water inside. This coconut water is sweet, and isotopic, and according the the Wikipedia page on coconuts, can be used as intravenous fluid, in case you're doing some major surgery on the beach. It is a refreshing and restorative drink.
The young coconuts have more water and less meat. As the nut darkens and ripens on the tree, the water is reduced and becomes more bitter, and the meat thickens and becomes tougher.
Using a machete to slice off the top of the coconut.
Young coconuts are a simple and refreshing treat, with a drink of yummy coconut water and a few mouthfuls of soft meat.
More mature coconuts are used in food preparation as well. Often the meat and additional water are ground up together. This mixture is then strained to produce coconut milk, and the rest of the coconut meat can be used in deserts or even bread.
The coconut milk is used to season a multitude of dishes, including fish, shrimp, conch, lobster, and even beef and poultry. Many of the traditional soups of Honduras are made with coconut milk. This will thicken the soup, and add the palm oil as well, so the consistency of the soup is a direct result of the use of coconut in cooking. Plus it imparts it's characteristic sweet and aromatic flavor.
Ripe or green, the coconut is an important food product in Honduras, in Sopa Marinera, Coconut Bread, Coconut Candy and more.
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