For this blog assignment, I decided to head over to St. Lawrence market because Yolohtzin asked if I wanted to go and it is so close to school so why not. I have never been to that market or any market to be honest. Closest thing to a market experience is when I tag along for grocery shopping at NoFrills and my mom sends me to go grab some lemons or what not, which is not really a market.
When I went in there, I was planning on getting something weird or something I have never heard of. In the end, I decided that I could also pick something that I have heard about but just have never eaten before or cooked with. In the end, I had a big decision on my hands. Should I pick a coconut or a mango. I have never eaten any of them, but I have had mango juice and I also have had coconut water, but that doesnt really count. So which one did I pick?
When I went in there, I was planning on getting something weird or something I have never heard of. In the end, I decided that I could also pick something that I have heard about but just have never eaten before or cooked with. In the end, I had a big decision on my hands. Should I pick a coconut or a mango. I have never eaten any of them, but I have had mango juice and I also have had coconut water, but that doesnt really count. So which one did I pick?
Yes, I chose a coconut. Above is me holding a coconut in front of the St. Lawrence market just in case Chef Inniss didn't believe that I actually went to a market.
I'm not really the type to eat fruit or vegetables, so I chose coconut because it looks cool and I thought since coconut water is pretty good I should enjoy the white meat of the coconut. I walked in completely clueless and without the assistance of Yolohtzin, I would have been screwed. I don't even really recall how she decided which one is better than the rest but I think she shook it. She is obviously a coconut expert.
The word coconut comes from Spanish and Portuguese explorers who noticed the fruit in tall trees which resembled a monkey face(coco). It is believed this was due to the eyes in the coconut which was mistaken for the face of a monkey. They originated in South Asia in the Ganges Delta in India. It is also believed that they started in South America as well as New Zealand.
The top 5 coconut producing countries are Indonesia at 22 million, Philippines at 16 million, India at 10 million, Sri Lanka at 2 million, and Brazil at 2 million. They are considered to be fruits, but they are actually what you call a drupe. A drupe is fruit that has an outer fleshy part that surrounds a pit of hardened endocarp that contains a seed inside. Some examples would be coffee, mangos, and peaches.
The coconut I bought cost me $1.99($2) which is pretty cheap because my dad told me that coconut water is expensive. It is probably a lot cheaper to go and buy so many coconuts and produce your own coconut water. They grow in warmer climates and in some cases take a few months to be ready and in other can take up to 12 months.
I honestly thought coconut would have tasted sweet because from my experience with coconut water is that it tasted sweet, but when I ate it, it was just weird. It wasn't salty, sweet, sour, or umami and I guess in my opinion it was a bit bitter. I did not like it at all.
So right before putting it in my mouth and cracking it open, I had it in my hand. I shook it and you could hear the water swooshing around on the inside. One side felt somewhat squishy but not so squishy and the other side was a bit harder. It kind of felt like holding a piece of a kinder egg. I smelt it and I got no scent. I know we eat with our eyes first, and when I saw this piece of coconut in my hand ready to be devoured, I was expecting so much. It looked so good! I was actually quite excited. Then I ate it. My first impression was maybe it was just that piece so I decided to eat another in hopes for something greater. It still sucked. It might sound weird and you probably will disagree with me but it tasted kind of like a carrot to me.
What makes this food unique is that like most fruits, you have to peel the outer layer and then eat the fruit. No big deal, easy and in the end delicious. With this coconut, I had to go grab a hammer and screw driver and make a hole in the eye of it.I then let all the water drip out then began hammering away all the way around it until the hairline crack I made finally separated both parts. It was just odd that all these other fruits were so easy and this bugger was so much work and in the end wasn't worth it at all.
I'm not really the type to eat fruit or vegetables, so I chose coconut because it looks cool and I thought since coconut water is pretty good I should enjoy the white meat of the coconut. I walked in completely clueless and without the assistance of Yolohtzin, I would have been screwed. I don't even really recall how she decided which one is better than the rest but I think she shook it. She is obviously a coconut expert.
The word coconut comes from Spanish and Portuguese explorers who noticed the fruit in tall trees which resembled a monkey face(coco). It is believed this was due to the eyes in the coconut which was mistaken for the face of a monkey. They originated in South Asia in the Ganges Delta in India. It is also believed that they started in South America as well as New Zealand.
The top 5 coconut producing countries are Indonesia at 22 million, Philippines at 16 million, India at 10 million, Sri Lanka at 2 million, and Brazil at 2 million. They are considered to be fruits, but they are actually what you call a drupe. A drupe is fruit that has an outer fleshy part that surrounds a pit of hardened endocarp that contains a seed inside. Some examples would be coffee, mangos, and peaches.
The coconut I bought cost me $1.99($2) which is pretty cheap because my dad told me that coconut water is expensive. It is probably a lot cheaper to go and buy so many coconuts and produce your own coconut water. They grow in warmer climates and in some cases take a few months to be ready and in other can take up to 12 months.
I honestly thought coconut would have tasted sweet because from my experience with coconut water is that it tasted sweet, but when I ate it, it was just weird. It wasn't salty, sweet, sour, or umami and I guess in my opinion it was a bit bitter. I did not like it at all.
So right before putting it in my mouth and cracking it open, I had it in my hand. I shook it and you could hear the water swooshing around on the inside. One side felt somewhat squishy but not so squishy and the other side was a bit harder. It kind of felt like holding a piece of a kinder egg. I smelt it and I got no scent. I know we eat with our eyes first, and when I saw this piece of coconut in my hand ready to be devoured, I was expecting so much. It looked so good! I was actually quite excited. Then I ate it. My first impression was maybe it was just that piece so I decided to eat another in hopes for something greater. It still sucked. It might sound weird and you probably will disagree with me but it tasted kind of like a carrot to me.
What makes this food unique is that like most fruits, you have to peel the outer layer and then eat the fruit. No big deal, easy and in the end delicious. With this coconut, I had to go grab a hammer and screw driver and make a hole in the eye of it.I then let all the water drip out then began hammering away all the way around it until the hairline crack I made finally separated both parts. It was just odd that all these other fruits were so easy and this bugger was so much work and in the end wasn't worth it at all.
I was told that you could shred the coconut and then use it as breading for shrimp. It sounds delicious and I am sure it tastes great, I mean what is not to like about shrimp? But I was too lazy to go out and buy shrimp so I decided to make chocolate coconut muffins. The recipe calls for: 1 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 1/2 tsps baking powder 1 tsp salt ( I left this out because I used regular butter instead of unsalted butter ) 1 large egg 1 cup milk 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup chocolate chunks ( or chips ) 1/4 cup shredded coconut ( optional for sprinkling on top of the muffin ) Now since I am not sure if I am supposed to just attach the recipe or if I am supposed to go into further steps, I'll just do it briefly anyways. So first step is to crack open that coconut, remove the white meat and clean it up then shred it and leave it to the side in a small bowl. Now mix all your dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. I don't know why I do that, but I do. Probably saw it in a YouTube video and just picked it up. Now at this point you can preheat your oven to 350C and spray down your muffin trays with some non stick spray. Pour the muffin batter into your muffin trays. Now this is optional, but if you want you can sprinkle some of that leftover shredded coconut on top of the muffin batter in the trays. It is then ready to go into your oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how much batter you poured into each individual muffin whole. Even though I did not like the coconut, I didn't want to waste it. The muffins came out pretty good for the first time ever making them and you got the texture of the coconut with the bites but the chocolate covered the coconut flavor. What I learned from this experience was a few things. One being I really need to start going to markets more often. The atmosphere is great and you can get so much different things. I also found it interesting that a coconut is a drupe. I did not know this prior to my research and thought it was really cool. I also learned that leaving an assignment to do the night before it is due is a bad idea. Staying up until 1:30 really sucks, but I have to do what I have to do. Just like in the kitchen and in life, you learn from your mistakes. References: http://thecoconutsite.com/history-of-coconut http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-map-coconut-production-countries.html http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/is-coconut-a-fruit.html |