How to Cook Coconut Meat

The meat from a mature coconut is used primarily in baked goods or combined with uncooked, finely chopped poultry, meat or shrimp. While coconut milk, made by mixing water with freshly shredded coconut meat, is prized for savory dishes, the used meat is usually discarded. Coconut meat is commonly cooked with sugar, milk and butter to make coconut candy, a treat found largely throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands. Use a coconut grater, which has a flat or round rod with a rounded, serrated end, to remove the meat from the shell.

Step 1.

Heat a medium-sized, nonstick frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Step 2.

Pour 2 cups of sugar into the pan.

Step 3.

Melt the sugar until it is light brown. Do not stir.

Step 4.

Reduce the heat to medium low.

Step 5.

Add 1 tbsp. of unsalted butter.

Step 6.

Pour in 4 ½ cups of grated, fresh coconut; it takes approximately two coconuts to make 4 to 5 cups of grated coconut meat.

Step 7.

Stir the sugar and coconut mixture using a large wooden spoon to completely incorporate the ingredients.

Step 8.

Cook the candy for 3 to 5 more minutes, enhancing the color and the flavor.

Step 9.

Pour the candy into a non-heat-conducting plastic bowl; the candy will thicken as it cools.

Step 10.

Place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes to speed up the cooling process.

Step 11.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick pan spray.

Step 12.

Remove the bowl from the fridge.

Step 13.

Pinch off some of the coconut candy and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Set it aside. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Step 14.

Cool uncovered at room temperature.

Things You Will Need

• Medium, nonstick pan

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 4 1/2 cups grated, fresh coconut meat

• Wooden spoon

• Non-heat-conducting plastic bowl

• Cookie sheet

• Aluminum foil

• Pan spray

Tip

To store the candy in your freezer, wrap coconut candy balls by the dozen in plastic wrap. Then, stack 2 dozen and wrap with heavy-duty foil. Place the candy in freezer storage bags in the freezer where they will keep for one year.

Warning

Caramelized sugar is very hot. Be careful when you add the butter and the coconut to the sugar.