Coconut water carrier

[wildranger]

I'm in the process of making a coconut water flask, I've bowdrilled a hole into one end for a wooden stopper, but there's still meat inside. Since there's only a small hole, getting the meat out by gouging and scraping with a flexible wire would probably take forever and I'd probably miss parts. My plan is to rot out the meat by filling the coconut with water for a few days/weeks and letting the bacteria do the work, no idea how effective this is going to be, does anybody have any brighter ideas?

Oh yea, coconuts are also a nice substitute for metal cooking pots if you want to go primitive, i've boiled water in them and cooked food, it just takes a bit longer for it to come to the boil!

 

[Harvestman]

My experience with coconuts is that rotting it out works and is quick and easy, but the thin layer between the flesh and the shell retains the flavour and smell and is really hard to shift. Still, a narrow brush might be effective. Sounds like an interesting project and I'll be interested in seeing the results.

 

[Gray]

+1 to the above, pretty sure it taints the taste of the water.

 

[mountainm]

You could try popping it in a pressure cooker and making coconut soup inside it? Then repeat until the flavour is gone.

 

[bushcraftmyway]

i remember reading somewhere that you should place it on top of an anthill for a couple of days and let the little fellows do the job. never did it myself, though...

 

[Robbi]

just make the stopper 3" in diameter

 

[Jared]

Not too sure about the let it rot thing, my step grandad was put off coconut for life after eating a bad one during the war. It didn't sound very pleasant :/

 

[the interceptor boy]

fill it up with vinegar and leave it in a warm place for a few weeks, then do it again. polished the outside, smooth and put some boiled linseed oil on and it will outlast you. cheers the interceptor boy.

 

[wildranger]

fill it up with vinegar and leave it in a warm place for a few weeks, then do it again. polished the outside, smooth and put some boiled linseed oil on and it will outlast you. cheers the interceptor boy.

Vineger eh? Why vinegar? Does this break down the flesh and have you tried this?

Cheers to everyone else for replies, I have to say I am a bit worried about the rotting process leaving a residue that might taint the water.

@Bushcraftmyway, no ants about at the moment unfortunately, this was the first thing I considered but alas, too late in the year

@Robbi, not a hope, it'd be a bitch to make watertight and I'd lose volume, plus it wouldn't be elegant if I did that

 

[lannyman8]

you could try half filling it with sharp bits of gravel put some water in and put your thumb over the hole, then shake hell out of it, that should remove the flesh, will take a while but quicker than a bit of wire or rotting it out....

worth a thought....

 

[squishy]

If it is only for carrying water for drinking and not for boiling things could you coat the inside with a thin layer of wax as you do with leather ones to get rid of the coconut taste and keep it waterproof?

 

[the interceptor boy]

what do I know ? I only have A coconut farm for the last fourth years in the tropics by the sea. about twenty years climbing a tree everyday, I could be wrong. about vinegar.?cheers the interceptor boy.

 

[Samon]

done a few coconut projects and I found rotting worked the best. I left mine in an unused kitchen cupboard for a few weeks and accidentally the white flesh turned into black gritty dust, I think a type of mite may have helped speed it along as it didn't work as fast in cold storage.

I haven't used vinegar but I have a feeling it will work, simular to how when we were kids alot of people recommended soaking a conker in vinegar to 'harden' it, yet all it done was soak in and make the thing stinking black mush!

I noticed my local co-op had some coconuts in the other day but at 90p each (they were small and alot were even cracked.. so kinda crappy) I gave it a miss untill they get better ones in elsewhere.

I actually used my good examples to amke goblets/cups, once the remaning pith/rotten stuff was scraped out I gave them a sand down and polish but they still flavoured my drinks. I made sure to clean it our properly but it still tasted rank, I ended up lining it with wax but I kind of gave up when I couldn't get it to work without any wax..

 

[Craig88]

The smell of a rotten coconut is god awful it smells like sour milk x10. which ever method you choose stay well away from it during the process! However having said that once it's done I'd love to see some shots of it
Sent from my GT-I8160

 

[wildranger]

Some more interesting replies,

@Squishy I don't really want to line it with wax because it shouldn't require it in the first place, since coconut shells are naturally watertight...

@lannyman I've considered that but I can't see it working, that flesh is pretty robust and stuck fast to the wall, might try it as a last resort though if all else fails!

@theinterceptorboy - Your suggestion of the vinegar intrigues me, I think I'm going to give that a try, it sounds like it wouldn't leave a nasty stinking residue like say rotting it in water might

 

[BOD]

Try boiling it every day. That should loosen and break down the flesh and prevent any bacterial decay from "flavouring" the water.

If it was your water receptacle on a desert island, you would fill it up from the waterfall, boil it over your coconut husk fire, let it cool down then offer it to your native girl friday to drink while you watch the sunset togther.

In a week

 

[Keith_Beef]

I made some coconut goblets for drinking piña colada last summer.

How about just sawing the coconuts in half, that makes it really easy to get the flesh out, then you can glue them back together with something food-safe, and finally seal the inside with brewer's pitch or wax.

 

[Stew]

The hole will need to be a sensible size to get water in easily - should be big enough to get something in to do some proggling and scraping of the bulk of it all.

 

[richtheclimber]

Maybe not a very appetizing idea, but could you leave it outside and let the nightlife eat away the flesh? I'm sure there would be plenty of mice at this time of year who#d be very grateful for the extra food. Then again, you might attract mice to your house and you'd have a different problem on your hands. But at least you'd have a nice coconut flask to drown your sorrows from...

 

[wildranger]

@BOD, yea I think that's a good idea, I was gona do that but now I've filled it with vinegar so I'm going to wait and see what happens.

@Keith_Beef - Sawing it and half and gluing back together wouldn't be as sturdy or as elegant as a solid water carrier and it adds the extra complication of sealing, but sure, if it was the only possibility..

@Stew - A bigger hole is more difficult to plug, the hole in mine is about 3/4 inch diameter, I don't fancy going much bigger

@richtheclimber - Won't work, the hole is so small that rodents probably aren't going to be able to sink their teeth into the flesh inside