Can I only buy it in season?
It is listed as a fruit harvested all year. Even so, the varieties and stock each seller carries differ. Look at whole fruit and prepared fruit separately.
Young coconut
Young Coconut · มะพร้าวอ่อน
If you feel like cold coconut water on a hot day, choose a young coconut. Have the top opened for you, drink the water inside and spoon out the soft flesh as well. The fragrant Nam Hom coconut is a variety known in Thailand. When you are thirsty, it is also fine to share one with your companion.
Coconut Drink, Pangandaran · Crisco 1492 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Resized for display · Photo provided under CC BY-SA 3.0
When is the best time to eat it?
Harvested all year
Listed as harvested all year
Ban Phaeo Nam Hom coconut: listed as harvested all year
Use the main season, or the harvest period of a regional fruit, as a guide. Actual harvests can vary with the growing area, the variety and the weather.
What does it taste like?
With a young coconut you enjoy the water and the soft white flesh together. Nam Hom is introduced as a variety whose feature is its aroma.
Why this fruit is known in Thailand
Thailand's fragrant young coconut is a fruit where you drink the water and eat the flesh too. The fragrant coconut of Ban Phaeo in Samut Sakhon is also introduced as a regional GI fruit.
Basics to know before you buy
- Thai name
- มะพร้าวอ่อน
- Harvest period
- Harvested all year
- Regional fruit
- Ban Phaeo Nam Hom coconut: listed as harvested all year
- How to buy
- Coconuts are sometimes sold by the piece. Water sold in a bottle and a coconut opened for you whole are not the same product, so look at each menu item separately.
How to prepare and eat it
- Choose a coconut to drink right away and ask for the top to be opened.
- After you drink the coconut water, if you have a spoon, scoop out the soft flesh too.
- Order by separating the price of one coconut from the price of a bottled drink.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare a per-kg price with a price per tray?
Coconuts are sometimes sold by the piece. Water sold in a bottle and a coconut opened for you whole are not the same product, so look at each menu item separately.
Keep exploring
Official sources
If you want to read more about the food and the regions behind it, these sources are a good next step. Ingredients and cooking methods can differ from one place to the next.
Sharing image credit: Crisco 1492 · CC BY-SA 3.0