Is THAT Really Fresh Coconut Water You're Drinking?

Coconut water is the thin liquid you find when you open a coconut. Chilled coconut water from the young coconut (buko) provides a refreshing and satisfying drink and is also considered a health tonic—it has been used traditionally to treat a variety of health problems.

The coconut water from mature coconuts (niyog), on the other hand, when you taste it directly from a newly cracked coconut, tastes slightly sour and not as sweet and pleasant as the water from the young coconut. This water is a lot cheaper than young coconut water and, if it is not wasted or thrown out in the processing of mature coconuts for its meat and oil, it is usually made into vinegar or alcoholic drinks.

[The following is my summary of Dr. Bruce Fife’s article on coconut water that appeared in the source listed at the end of this post. The photos are also from the same source. Printed with full permission from Dr. Fife.]

 Coconut water for drinking is now widely available in a variety of cartons, bottles, and cans all over the world. But what is not generally known is that these giant beverage companies are processing coconut water from mature coconuts because they are much cheaper. This processing could involve pasteurization (subjecting the water to high heat) and the addition of not only sugar but also water, artificial flavorings and preservatives to ensure long shelf life. Therefore, as in a lot of food products you buy from supermarkets, read labels carefully so you know what you are drinking.

There are options available to consumers who want to buy pure, fresh coconut water for drinking.

(1) Go to a tropical country like the Philippines and drink coconut water to your heart’s content, straight from the coconut itself.

(2) Buy the whole “white” coconuts you find in health food stores and Asian markets, which are slightly trimmed young green coconuts that mostly come from Thailand. The only problem is that these coconuts may have been picked young, but by the time they are harvested, shipped, stored, and trucked to markets, they are already at least a couple of months old; this could affect the taste of the water inside, which might have a woody taste from the coconut shell. Another concern is that these coconuts are given a chemical water bath to prevent molding and browning, although tests have shown that this chemical does not penetrate all the way through the husk and shell of the coconut.

(3) The Noelani Coconut Water and Beverage Company (www.noelanicoconutwater.com) in New England imports whole young coconuts from the Caribbean. Shipping distance and time is much shorter than those from Thailand so the coconuts are only about two weeks old. They will even deliver the coconuts to your door. Currently they service Connecticut, New York City, and northern New Jersey. 

(4) Exotic Superfoods (www.exoticsuperfoods.com), which imports frozen coconut water from Thailand. This water is frozen almost immediately after the water is extracted from the nuts and shipped to the U.S. They have 11.7 and 32-ounce BPA-free plastic containers which are kept frozen and can be shipped to locations throughout the U.S.

(5) The best source among all the bottled coconut water available in the market today is the brand Invo Coconut Water, which is sold at Whole Foods (in the U.S.) in the refrigerated section. While this product is packaged in a bottle, it is not heat pasteurized. The product is completely raw and tastes more like fresh coconut water than any commercially bottled product. Instead of heat pasteurization the company uses another sterilization process called pressure pasteurization, in which the product is subjected to pressure, at room temperature, which kills any potentially harmful microbes without destroying any of the nutritional value or adversely affecting the taste. It is just a nutritious as if it came directly out of a young coconut and tastes like it too. It is more expensive than other bottled coconut waters, but well worth the price.

Source:

“Is it Really Coconut Water?”

By Bruce Fife, N.D.

http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/hwnl_10-1.htm

Healthy Ways Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1, E-Mail Edition