ESSAY
A Watery Delicacy to Quench Your Thirst
A treasure hidden in a coconut
One of the reasons I eagerly await my bi-weekly days off is the food I get to enjoy at home. Some of it is homemade, while others are gifts from nature.
This time, it’s sprouted coconuts, waiting to be cracked open. You can bet it was my first task to taste them as soon as I landed at home.
Perhaps you may not be familiar with sprouted coconuts. When a coconut is left alone for some time, beautiful things happen. A tiny, yellowish-white horn emerges from the husk at the top, which is the future tree.
However, the most fantastic transformation occurs inside the shell. A tiny pod appears and starts to grow, occupying the entire space. As it grows, it absorbs the inside water content. This is when it’s time to crack it open and savor this delicacy.
Its shape varies according to the negative space inside the coconut, but it is mainly rounded. The outer layer has a yellowish surface but white on the inside. When you take a bite, you will instantly be transported to a different realm.
It has a sweet, watery taste and smooth texture, like a wet sponge. I’m not a dietary expert, but I’m sure it’s filled with essential nutrients. How can I say that? Because it contains everything necessary to grow a coconut tree from the fruit. What’s good for nature is surely good for us.
On a sunny day, you need only a few coconut sprouts to satisfy your taste. And it is totally fine to have on a rainy day, too, just like I did. I even skipped my tea, which I usually have as the first thing at home.
These sprouted coconuts come from the stash my father sets aside to make homemade coconut oil. When the coconuts start sprouting, he knows it’s time. He then removes the outer husk, cracks open the shell, extracts the coconut meat, and sun-dries it after cutting it into small pieces.
We eagerly await this time because, as a side benefit, we get to enjoy these rare delicacies. This time, my father has already started the work and left a few for me because he knows I like them very much.
If you ever visit Sri Lanka, try to find this because even in Sri Lanka, not everyone gets the chance to taste this wonder of nature.
