Coconut Etymology

One of the earliest mentions of the coconut dates back to the One Thousand and One Nights story of Sinbad the Sailor; he is known to have bought and sold coconuts during his fifth voyage. Tenga, its Malayam and Tamil name, was used in the detailed description of coconut found in Itenerario by Ludovico di Varthema published in 1510 and also in the later Hortus Indicus Malbaricus. Even earlier, it was called nux indica, a name used by Marco Polo in 1280 while in Sumatra, takedn from the Arabs who called it جوز هندي jawz hindi. Both names translate to “Indian nut”.

In the earliest description of the coconut palm known, given by Cosmos of Alexandria in his Topographia Christiana written about 545 AD, there is a reference to the argell tree and its drupe.

Historical evidence favours the European origin of the name “coconut”, for no name is similar in any of the languages of India, where the Portuguese first found the fruit; and indeed Barbosa, Borros, and Garcia, in mentioning the Malayalam name tenga, and Canarese narle, expressly say, “we call these fruits quoquos”, “our people have given it the name of coco”, and “that which we call coco, and the  Malabars tenga”.

The OED states: “Portuguese and Spanish authors of the 16^th c. Agree in identifying the word with Portuguese and Spanish coco “grinning face, grin, grimace”, also “bugbear, scarecrow”, cognate with cocar “to grin, make grimace”; the name being said to refer to the face-like appearance of the base of the shell, with its three holes. According to Losada, the name came from Portuguese explorers, the sailors of Vasco da Gama in India, who first brought them to Europe. The coconut shell reminded them of a ghost of which Portuguese folklore called coco (also coca). The first known recorded usage of the term is in 1555.

The specific name nucifera is Latin for “nut-bearing”.

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Sweet Traditional Indonesian Recipes

Coconut is a very popular ingredient in Sweet dishes in Indonesia, especially coconut milk as it is easily found throughout the country.

Bubur Kacang Hijau

Bubur Kacang Hijau is  a sweet desert made from mung beans porridge with coconut milk and palm sugar or cane sugar. It is sometimes simply referred to as "Kacang Hijau", meaning "green bean" (i.e. mung bean). Bubur means porridge. Slightly different names may be used in different regions of Indonesia, such as "Kacang ijo" in Javanese areas. It is often served as a dessert or snack, however it is a popular choice for breakfast or a late night supper. 

Ingredients:

-250 grams green soy beans (mung beans)

-750ml water

-300 ml coconut milk

-100g white sugar

-50g brown sugar (optional)

-½ teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

-1 pandan leaf, cut smaller (optional)

Coconut sauce:

-200ml thick coconut milk

-2 cm ginger, crushed

-a pinch of salt

Method:

Clean the green soy beans. Then cook it with water until it’s really tender (like porridge). It is necessary to add more water if it’s not soft yet. And stirring it well while cooking.

When the green soya is already tender, add coconut milk, vanilla sugar then pandan leaf. By the time the coconut milk is half left, add the sugars (white and brown) and salt. Keep stirring it so it won’t burn.

Cook until it’s thick like porridge.

Make the coconut sauce by boiling all the ingredients.

Serve the green soya porridge (bubur kacang hijau) with the coconut sauce on top.

Bubur Ketan Hitam

Bubur ketan hitam, bubur pulut hitam, or bubur ijun is a sweet dessert made from black glutinous rice porridge with coconut milk and palm sugar or cane sugar. It is often described as 'black glutinous rice pudding" and is served for dessert, snack, for supper, for tea time, and other times of the day, but it is most popular during breakfast for those who prefer sweat rather than savory. It is sometimes referred to simply as "Ketan hitam" or "Pulut hitam", meaning "black glutinous rice".

Ingredients:

-1500ml water

-150g black glutinous rice (rinsed and soaked overnight)

-1 pandan leaf

-150g brown sugar

-a pinch of salt

-¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Coconut Sauce:

-a pinch of salt

-1 pandan leaf

-200ml thin coconut milk

Method:

Bring water to boil with black glutinous rice and pandanus leaf. Cook until thickened in medium heat. Season with brown sugar and salt, take off heat.

In simmer heat, cook coconut milk with salt and pandanus leaf until boiling.

Serve rice pudding with coconut milk sauce while still warm.

Dodol

Dodol is a sweet, toffee-like confection. In Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia it is commonly served during ceremonies such as Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as sweet treats for children. The Betawi people take pride in making homemade dodol during these ceremonies, where family members gather together to make dodol. The town of Garut in West Java is the main production center of dodol in Indonesia.

Ingredients:

(A)

-½cup sugar

-½cup gulah merah- chopped

-½cup water

-1 pandan leaf

(B)

-1 cup glutinous rice flour

-1 tablespoon rice flour

-400ml coconut cream

-100ml water

Method:

Combine ingredients A and cook on "high" for five minutes. Stir and cook further if the sugars are not dissolved.

Add ingredients b and stir well. Strain mixture.

Cook on "high" at 3 minutes interval, stirring vigorously at every interval. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens, is shinny and does not stick to finger when touched.

Discard the pandan leaf and transfer dodol to a greased clingwrap. Wrap up well.

Kolak

Kolak (or Kolek) is a dessert made with palm sugar or coconut sugar and coconut milk, with pandanus leaf or added aroma. Banana may be added to this base, the dish then being called Kolak Pisang or banana kolak. Pumpkin, sweet potato, jackfruit, plantain and/or cassava, and sometimes tapioca pearl may also be added. It is usually served warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients:

-Cassava root or 1 Sweet potato

-3 tablespoons palm sugar

-300grams coconut milk

-1 cinnamon stick (optional)

-20cm pandan leaf (optional)

-1 banana (optional)

Method:

Peel and boil the cassava root in coconut milk until softened (use the sweet potato if you cannot find cassava root).

Once soft, add the remaining ingredients until it is as rich as you like.

Can be served hot or chilled

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Savory Traditional Indonesian Recipes using Coconut

Coconut is used frequently in both sweet and savory dishes in Indonesia. As coconuts are easily accessible, it is highly used in many traditional recipes.

Soto Ayam

Soto ayam is a yellow spicy chicken soup with lontong or nasi empit or ketupat (all compressed rice that is then cut into small cakes) and/or vermicelli or noodles. There are different variations of this soup according to the different regions of Indonesia.


Ingredients:

-1/2 chicken breast cut into cubes or stripped from the bone
-1 stalk of lemongrass cut into three pieces
-1 can of coconut milk
-1 can of chicken broth (you can also make this at home by boiling chicken along with vegetables and salt)
-1 glass of water

Spice paste:

-1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
-1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
-4 shallots (chopped)
-3 cloves of garlic 
-2 pieces of turmeric (peeled and chopped) or 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
-2inch piece of galangal (peeled and chopped)
-2inch piece of ginger (peeled and sliced)
-1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

Additional ingredients:

-2 cups of sliced cabbages
-2 cups of bean sprouts
-1/2 of vermicelli or 1 small packet of glass noodles
-2 limes (cut into wedges)
-2 hard boiled eggs (cut into wedges)
-1 stalk of spring onion (chopped)

Method:


Blend the spice paste in a food processor. Add some water if needed. Pour some oil in a pot and add in the spice paste. Stir the spice paste and wait for it to turn light brown. Add in chicken broth, coconut milk, lemon grass strips, and water. Once the broth starts boiling, add in chicken breast cubes. Cover the pot and lower the heat and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Blanch beansprouts, pre-soaked vermicelli / glass noddles, cabbages in another pot of boiling water and transfer them into a bowl once they are cooked. Add in toppings of hard-boiled eggs, chopped spring onions and pour the hot chicken broth into the bowl. Serve hot with lime wedges.

Gudeg Jogja- Yogjakarta Jackfruit Stew

Gudeg is a traditional Javanese cuisine from Jogjakarta and Central Java, it is made from young unripe jackfruit boiled for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk. It is traditionally served with white steamed rice, chicken either as ayam uduk (chicken in coconut milk) or ayam goreng (fried chicken), telur pindang, opor telur, or just hard boiled egg, tofu and/or tempeh, and sambal goreng krechek (a stew made of crisp beef skins).

Serves 8

Ingredients:

-6 bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam)

-3 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk)

-1 inch galangal (bruised) (Indonesian: lengkuas)

-2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh)

-1 tea bag of black tea (optional) 
-75 grams palm sugar (Indonesian: gula jawa)
-1 ½ teaspoon salt
-500 grams of young jack fruit (cut into bite sized pieces) (Indonesian: nanka muda)
-1 liter coconut milk
-4 hard boiled eggs (optional)

Spice paste:

-50 grams shallots (Indonesian: bawang merah)

-4 cloves of garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)

-8 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri)

-1 teaspoon coriander seeds (Indonesian: biji ketumbar)

Method:

Place bay leaves, lime leaves, galangal, lemongrass, tea bag, salt, palm sugar, and spice paste into a soup pot. If you have a claypot big enough to cook this, it will be even better.

Add jackfruit into the pot. Pour coconut milk into the pot, making sure that everything is submerged, bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, add hard boiled eggs (if using), and simmer on the lowest heat setting possible until all liquid is fully absorbed by the jackfruit and eggs. Stir every 30 minutes or so. This process should take about 4 to 5 hours.


Turn off heat, adjust seasoning as needed, some people really like their gudeg to be on the sweet side. Remove all the leaves. Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

Opor Ayam

Opor ayam is a chicken dish cooked in coconut milk from Indonesia, especially from Central Java. It is a popular dish for lebaran also known as Eid ul-Fitri (major national holiday), usually eaten with ketupat and sambal goreng ati (beef liver in sambal). It's similar to curry, though it has a light taste yet still delicious and aromatic.

Ingredients:

-1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces)

- 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass

- 3 kaffir lime leaves

- 1 salam leaf

- 500ml thick coconut milk

- 500ml water/chicken broth

-1 tablespoon tamarind juice (lime/lemon juice can be used as a substitute)

- 2 teaspoons salt (add more to taste)

- 1 teaspoon sugar

Spice paste:

- 7 shallots

- 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)

- 4 candlenuts (roasted)

- ½ teaspoon cumin powder

- ½ teaspoon pepper powder

- 1 teaspoon shredded fresh galangal

- ½ teaspoon shredded fresh ginger

Method:

Marinate chicken with 1 tablespoon of tamarind juice and 1 tablespoon salt. Leave it for 15 minutes.

Grind or blend the ingridients of spice paste.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil saute the spice paste together with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and salam leaf over a medium-high heat until fragrant. Then add the chicken and stir a bit with the spice and then pour the water. Add salt and sugar. Cook until it’s boiling.

When the chicken is half-done, add the coconut milk. Continue cooking over a medium heat until it’s cooked.

Note : You can add boiled egg or tofu as well to the recipe.

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COCONUT OIL & WEIGHT LOSS

Coconut oil is the world's most weight loss friendly fat. It contains a combination of fatty acids that has a powerful effect on metabolism. Several studies have shown that by adding coconut oil to your diet you can lose fat, especially fat in the abdominal cavity.

Coconut Oil is High in Medium Chain Triglycerides, Fatty Acids that Boost Metabolism!

Most foods contain predominantly Long-chain Fatty Acids whereas coconut oil consists of almost entirely Medium-chain Fatty Acids. These Medium-chain Fatty Acids are metabolised differently as they are sent straight to the liver from the digestive tract, where they are either used for energy right away or turned into ketone bodies which are used as energy in the heart, brain and muscles.

How Coconut Oil Can Boost Metabolism, making you BURN MORE CALORIES at Rest

Different foods and micronutrients go through different metabolic pathways so the different types of foods we eat can have a huge impact on our hormones and metabolic health. Some metabolic pathways are more efficient than others and some foods require more energy to digest and metabolise.

One important property of coconut oil is that it is 'thermogenic' - eating tends to increase energy expenditure (fat burning) compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. In one study, 15-30 grams (1 to 2 tablespoons) of medium-chain fatty acids per day increased expenditure by 5%, totaling about 120 calories per day. Several other studies confirm these findings. when humans replace the fats they are eating with medium-chain fatty acids, they burn more calories.

Therefore, ingesting calories from coconut oil is NOT the same as ingesting calories from olive oil or butter.

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Coconut Facts

-The name coconut derives from 16th century Portuguese sailors who thought the three small holes on the coconut shell resembled the human face so dubbed the fruit "coco" meaning "grinning face, or grimace". The word nut was added in English.

-Coconut milk is not the same as coconut water. Coconut milk has a high fat content of around 17%, but is low in sugars. It is frequently added to curries and other savoury dishes. Coconut cream can also be made using coconut milk.

-Coir (the fiber of the husk) can be used to make ropes, mats, brushes, sacks, caulking for boats, and as stuffing for mattresses.

-Coconut leaves have many uses such as: for making brooms, woven to make baskets or mats, or dried and used as thatch for roofing.

-The coconut palm is grown in over 80 countries. 

-Coconut oil contains median chain triglycerides which are easy to digest. The oil is a source of energy and has an accelerating effect on the metabolism.

-Coconut oil contains four growth hormones that help the development of many organisms. Coconut water is considered the "father of modern tissue culture science".

-Coconut water can be used as a substitute for blood plasma. The high level of sugar and other salts make it possible to add water to the bloodstream, similar to how an IV solution works in modern medicine. Coconut water was known to be used in WWII in tropical areas for emergency transfusions.

-Coconut trees belong to the plant family known as Arecaceae and are the only species of genus Coco. They can grow up to 30m high.

-The husk of the coconut can be used as mosquito repellent by burning.

-Most plants have tap roots. However, the coconut tree has a fibrous root system. The tree gains nutrition from thin branching roots growing from the stem.

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30 USES OF COCONUT OIL

1.  Cooking with coconut oil is great as it has a high smoke point, it is also a great dairy free substitute for butter.

2. On skin as a natural lotion.

3. As make-up remover.

4. As diaper cream

5. To lighten ages spots when drubbed directly onto skin

6. To prevent stretch marks during pregnancy

7. To support healthy thyroid function

8. To help increase sun tolerance and avoid burning (natural SPF 4 sunscreen)

9. Topically to kill yeast or yeast infections

10 .Massage oil

11. It's high Lauric Acid and MCFA content helps boost your metabolism

12. Intensive nighttime facial moisturiser

13. When mixed with sugar it can be a great body scrub 

14. Natural chap stick

15. Natural conditioner- rub into dry hair and leave for for several hours before rinsing

16. To fight athlete's foot and fungus

17. To soothe psoriasis and eczema

18. To help alleviate allergy symptoms- rub on the inside of your nose

19. Can help improve insulin levels

20. Can help improve cholesterol ratios

21. Replacement of vegetable oil

22. Natural antibacterial skin cream

23. As natural shave cream and after shave cream

24. Reduce itching from mosquito bites

25. On split ends to de-frizz

26.  Tanning oil

27. As a natural deodorant

28. When taken regularly it can help fight candida and boost hormone production

29. Can boost circulation

30. Naturally clears up cold sores

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8 Amazing ways that Coconut Water Benefits your Health

1.      Helps your Kidney Function-

The L-arginine found in coconut water may help with kidney functions. L-arginine appears to help kidneys in their ability to filter out toxins from the things we consume every day as well as the environment we live in. Although further research needs to be conducted, several studies have shown that coconut water could help reduce the risk of kidney stones.

2.      Helps with Blood Pressure Levels-

Coconut water can help people with high blood pressure as it contains potassium and magnesium which are both essential when lowering blood pressure through foods and drinks.

3.      Helps keep you Hydrated-

Coconut water can be a great alternative beverage for rehydration after exercise-induced dehydration. Consumption of coconut water produces similar hydrating results when compared to carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks due to the composition of carbohydrates, electrolytes, and fluid, with the benefit of not having any additives.

4.      Improves your Digestion-

Your digestive system is one of the most important systems in the body for regulating health and any foods or drinks that aids the process is going to impact your over-all well being. A sluggish digestive system can lead to feelings of lethargy and overtime could possibly lead to more serious problems.

5.      Can help with Cholesterol levels-

Coconut water contains potassium and there is a link between getting enough potassium and maintaining proper cholesterol levels. When it is used as part of comprehensive approach to bringing down bad cholesterol levels, along with avocado and bananas, it may serve its purpose.

6.      Can help with Migraines-

Due to the magnesium in coconut water, it helps in reducing and avoiding migraines. Consuming a natural source of magnesium can be tricky so rather than taking magnesium supplements which your body may not absorb properly; coconut water is a delicious way to get more magnesium into your system along with many other nutrients.

7.      Helps Battle Free Radical Damage-

Coconut water contains antioxidants which can help your body battle free radicals that are continually trying to damage your systems. With coconut water check the label to make sure you are getting 100% pure with no added ingredients as this is more beneficial to your body. Going organic is also helpful to make sure that you are not ingesting any additional chemicals or preservatives.

8.      Helps you Lose Weight-

The reason that coconut water can help you lose weight is that it helps with your metabolic rate, acts as a diuretic, and helps the body hydrate itself. By keeping your body hydrated you’ll be storing less fat in your body. By acting as a diuretic, it s helping you shed excess water weight, which should not be confused with weight loss in the form of fat loss. It can still be very helpful in ridding your body of excess water weight.

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