coconut
with the lack of anything better to do today, we went to the coconut dehusking class, just to prepare for the eventuality of survivor living.
coconut tidbits:
- coconuts are not native to these islands, but instead they float for up to 110 days from pelopenesian islands and wash up onto the shore. this is why they are only found along the coasts. the milk then acts as nutrients, feeding the little seedling until it sprouts out of the coconut. twenty years later, it will finally produce coconuts of its own.
- if needed, you can survive for three months eating nothing but coconut, since it contains healthy doses of potassium and magnesium.
how to dehusk a coconut:
- impale it on the convenient metal spike you have in the ground, and use the spike to pry off sections of the husk until you’ve separated it from the nut itself.
- using your small phillips head screwdriver, poke a hole in one of the eyes. if you hear a sucking sound as you remove the screwdriver, then you know that the tamper-proof seal is still good and you can go ahead and drink the milk. if you didn’t hear any milk sloshing around before you started, chances are the seedling has already started and stolen all the milk from you, and you should probably opt for another coconut.
- once you’ve drunk your fill of coconut milk, you just basically smash it on a rock. it should break nicely in half, and then you can use your handy knife to pry out the coconut meat. coconuts will only stay good for about a day, though, so eat fast!
so obviously, the key to surviving while stranded on a desert island is to make sure that the island you’re stranded on has a large metal spike in the ground, and also to make sure you have your knife and phillips head screwdriver handy as well.
i took my coconut back to the room, and having discovered the miracle of minibar refrigeration, kept it around for two days. i ate one half, but hmc made me throw out the other half before i could finish it off.
Posted at November 26, 2004 6:19 PM
