Harvest while young or leave to ripen and fall with maturity. Immature nuts may be selected with green, light yellow or orange surface color. It should have a light sound when flicked or tapped (indicates soft flesh and juice flavor). Mature nuts are selected if they have a dry, light-brown outer husk, usually when they fall on the ground, and should also contain some coconut water, which is only sometimes consumed. Toddy is selected when the flower bud is clean, free of insects and before the flowers have begun to ferment (“Coconut: Pacific food leaflet no.4,” 2006; Malolo et al., 2001).
Immature nuts are best used soon after picking or kept in a cool place. Keep husked nuts and coconut cream in a cooler or refrigerator. Un-husked mature nuts should be removed from sunlight and kept cool. Fresh toddy can only be preserved if boiled down to a thick syrup and stored in a sterilized bottle (“Coconut: Pacific food leaflet no.4,” 2006; Malolo et al., 2001).
Hawaiifoods
The coconut tree is revered as a symbol of the PacificIslands and is considered the “tree of life” or “divine tree” because of its cultural significance, economic importance and wide-ranging usefulness. It thrives in the mild tropical climates, coral sands, and volcanic soils and is a source of food, drink and shelter (Lambert, 1970; Snowdon, 2003). Coconut trees grow in many different varieties, such as ‘talls’, ‘dwarfs’, or hybrids between them, and produce varieties of large and small nuts throughout the year.