Coconut versatile for health to fuel. The hyped coconut is an important fruit and in many places serves as food, shelter, fuel, medicine and much more. Discover the versatility of the coconut and its various applications.
Already 2000 years ago the coconut palm appeared on Native American scriptures. Notes on the coconut have also been found in Sanskrit. And the writings of the Tamils, from the 1st to the 4th century BC, repeatedly show notes about coconut palms. So it is certain that the coconut played an important role among various Asian peoples long before our era. In Hindu religion, the coconut still plays an important role in various rituals, including wedding rituals. In addition, the coconut symbolizes prosperity and happiness.
Over the centuries, the coconut was taken by the various explorers to the Western world, where it became increasingly known. If you now want a coconut, you can buy it (fresh) in the supermarket or on the market, for a reasonable price.
The scientific name of the coconut palm is cocos nucifera. The palm can reach a height of 30 meters, but there are also the so-called dwarf coconut palms that do not grow higher than 3-4 meters. The advantage of the dwarf variety is that the coconuts grow lower and can easily be picked from the palm by hand. At the large coconut palms you will have to wait until the coconuts are overripe and fall. Or you will have to use pickers whose agility allows you to climb into the top of the coconut palms to harvest the coconuts.
As with other palms, the trunk is bare, with distinct notches from which old leaves have fallen. At the end of the trunk, the coconuts grow with a crown of leaves on top. The coconut palm will have small flowers first. After pollination, coconuts will grow from this. The coconuts are in a hard, smooth shell (usually orange in color). If this smooth skin is removed, you come to the well-known coconut. This is often surrounded by a lot of fiber.
The coconut contains coconut milk, which is very healthy. A coconut also contains pulp:this pulp is initially soft (a young coconut) and becomes harder the longer the harvest is delayed, until you get the well-known bounty pulp. Everything about the coconut is useful:from the trunk to the leaves.
If you leave a fruit (unpeeled) on the ground long enough (in tropical countries), over time a spur will grow out of one of the holes at the top from which a new palm will grow.
There are many uses of coconut in agriculture:for example, palms can be planted as borders of agricultural plots. This has several advantages:you no longer need a fence, especially when you plant the dwarf coconut. In addition to the cultivated agricultural products, you can also harvest the coconuts (extra income) and the planted coconut palms provide shade.
The empty husks are also used as a replacement for flower pots and the fibers provide the right nutrient medium, especially orchids.
The leaves of a coconut palm are chopped off and placed on scaffolding under which young plants are grown, which thus find sufficient protection against the bright sun. The advantage of using coconut leaves is that you can remove them little by little and harden the young plants against the sun. The dried leaves do not have to be thrown away. These are frequently used for covering huts, to cover the compost heap and the like.
The coconut is also eagerly used in industry. The fibers of the coconut are used to make cord, which is very strong. The empty coconut itself can be used as an additional filler in the manufacture of plastic. Another way to use coconut in industry is to make coconut charcoal. The special heating without oxygen and then exposure to oxygen ensures that the resulting charcoal is suitable for filtering gases and liquids. This makes coconut charcoal extremely suitable for manufacturing gas masks.
The coconut also has various applications at home:in tropical countries, for example, the cords made from coconut fibers are used to make fishing nets and to hold wooden houses together. Furthermore, coconut is used in floor mats and various utensils, including eating utensils, furniture and the like. The leaves of the coconut can also be used as a roof covering.
As mentioned before, coconut oil is suitable for treating dry hair and dry skin. Coconut oil is also used in soap, shampoo and bath soap. A coconut oil massage is relaxing and healthy. If you mix coconut oil with sugar, you have the perfect scrub to remove dead skin cells.
Coconut oil can be used for many more things. Curious about the applications? Here you will find more ideas about coconut oil.
Everyone knows coconut is in bounty, but this is just one example of coconut processing in food. In Indian cuisine, coconut is indispensable for the preparation of the most delicious rice dishes, chutneys and various curry dishes.
Coconut water is a healthy thirst quencher. In Suriname you can find stalls along the street (especially at the Central Market in the center of Paramaribo) where you can buy a coconut with a straw at the top (in one of those holes). Ideal to drink the coconut water directly. These coconuts are usually wonderfully chilled!
The pulp of a coconut (whether or not dried) is perfectly suitable for the preparation of all kinds of (sweet) snacks, cookies, ice cream and pastries.
Although many people think that coconut is not so healthy, because it contains saturated fats, the opposite is true. After all, not all saturated fats are unhealthy and coconut is one of the healthy saturated fats. The coconut is healthy because:
– These contain many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
– Coconuts are rich in fiber and therefore very suitable for people who, for example, have problems with their intestines
– All coconuts are antibacterial and antiviral and also have an anti-inflammatory effect
– Coconuts lower bad cholesterol, which reduces cardiovascular disease (this has been shown in several studies by research in countries where the population mainly uses coconut (oil)
– Coconuts are great for pregnant women, pregnant and breastfeeding women. This is because the use of coconut increases the percentage of protective fats by 27%, so that mother, fetus and baby are better protected against all kinds of infections
– Coconut oil, the fat with the best cancer-fighting properties
– Coconut oil improves the absorption of calcium, magnesium and proteins.
For centuries, people believed that the occasional pearl can be found in a coconut, which, due to its rarity, is of greater value than the 'regular' pearls. Unfortunately, it has never been shown that pearls can be found in coconuts. Yet it is a legend that is still believed by people (also in Suriname) to this day.
The coconut versatile from health to fuel. Do you already use coconut (oil)? If so, how?
