Did anyone else grow up with shredded coconut sprinkled over fruit salads? This bizarre (to me) phenomenon put me off coconut for years. Far too long. It's time to embark on a 10-Step Coconut Recovery Program. I just know there is potential in this handful of fragrant shavings. Have a favorite recipe to share?
Shredded coconut is exactly what it sounds like. Nothing hidden, nothing tricky. It is made from the meat of the coconut from just under its fibrous brown shell. Unless you live somewhere tropical or grate it yourself, the coconut has likely been dried before packaging.
You can find shredded coconut both sweetened and unsweetened. As is probably intuitive, the sweetened version is best used in baked goods. It's higher moisture content and sweetness give things like muffins and macaroons a more even (i.e., less dry) texture and flavor. Use unsweetened coconut for savory dishes: curries, chutneys, and meat dishes.
Look for good-quality shredded coconut at specialty markets. There are also some good sources online:
• Shredded Coconut from Nuts.com, $3.49 for a 1-pound bag
• Shredded Coconut from Bob's Red Mill, $3.39 for a 12-ounce bag
Here are a few of the coconut recipes on my list:
• Coconut Mango Oat Muffins
• Coconut Banana Fritters
• Coconut Milk Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting
• Shredded Apple Meusli
• Rye Toasting Bread with Cherries and Pumpkin Seeds
How do you use coconut in your cooking?
Related: How to Make Coconut Butter
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(Image: Emma Christensen)
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i love chicken "breaded" in shredded coconut - chicken fingers are the best that way!
I love using shredded coconut as a topping for this stir-fry (usually use chicken instead of tofu):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Thai-Tofu-with-Red-Bell-Peppers-and-Peanuts-242489
I also love what it brings to these muffins!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/banana-crunch-muffins-recipe/index.html
I'm not a fan of raw dried coconut, but when it's toasted it's so delicious! I like the big flakes much better than the finely shredded kind. I make granola with sliced almonds and unsweetened coconut flakes and it's so good!
would love the granola recipe from picklemuseum, please.
Ditto what PICKLEMUSEUM said. In fact, I've got a coconut (flakes) and dried cherry granola in my oven right now!
Seconding what @Limegreenaffair said, unsweetened coconut (especially when mixed with a little almond meal and seasoning) works great as a breading, like in these chicken "nuggets":
http://meatified.com/paleo-coconut-chicken-nuggets/
Since people are asking about granola... Here is my recipe which I and everyone seems to love!
This makes a lot so cut the recipe in half if you like...
10 cups whole oats
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw pecans
1 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1/3 cup cinnamon (maybe some nutmeg too..)
1 cup raw pepitas
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup honey
1 cup light in flavor olive oil or coconut oil
1-2 cups dried fruit such as apricots (diced), cherries, cranberries etc...
Mix together the oats, almonds, pecans, coconut, cinnamon, pepitas, sunflower seeds. Heat the honey and oil on the stove so that they mix well. Pour over the oat mixture and mix. Put in a 350 degree oven for 20 min., stir and then another 30 min. Take out and add the dried fruit. Turn off the oven and put the whole thing back in the oven for several hours (or overnight) to dry out and get crunchy.
YUM that granola recipe sounds delicious. glad to see i'm not the only one who likes to douse mine in cinnamon!
My mom's delicious granola recipe also includes unsweetened shredded coconut. She uses unsweetened coconut for macaroons too which I prefer to those made with sweetened coconut. The sweetness isn't as overpowering.
My granola recipe is super simple. I have never actually measured any of the ingredients, so sorry this is kinda vague.
Mix together in a large bowl:
A few cups rolled oats (maybe about 4 cups?)
Sliced almonds (maybe a 1 or 1/2 cups?)
Unsweetened large flake coconut (about the same proportion as the almonds)
a couple pinches sea salt
Heat up maybe a 1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil or butter) with about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup honey, just until the coconut oil is melted and the honey thins out a little.
Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture and mix well. If it's not enough to coat everything you can add a little more honey, or if its too wet, just add more nuts/oats.
Spread it on a cookie sheet (lining with a silpat or parchment makes it easier to transfer to a jar later) and bake at 325 until everything is nicely browned, about 30 minutes.
My son loves coconut, so I buy it a lot and look for different ways to use it. I usually just get the sweetened flakes, and use them for everything.
I recently made a fruit tart with a hazelnut crust and a coconut custard layer. Nutty & fruity!
And I'll use the sweetened flakes in savory foods, too, like this zucchini, green pea, cashews and coconuts dish. My boys loved it!
Found some here, unsweetened in a vegetarian grocery that is very large flakes - like a quarter inch square or perhaps a little larger. It's just coconut but it has a unique appearance and looks really good toasted as a garnish.
Coconut shrimp. Divine. And what a [divine] coincidence finding this post. The market had a 2-fer today so a couple hopped into my bag. Got big plans for tomorrow. And yup, took me yearsss to overcome the fruit salad mess. Off to preuse the shared recipes above & see what else I can create. What fun!
*peruse*
I did grow up in the tropics! So yes, all my shredded coconuts were fresh. We'd eat them with certain rice cakes, but usually we'd use them to extract coconut milk. I never had to grate them, but my dad tells us stories about how my grandma would make them grate it manually using a tool that had a seat on one end and a metal grate on the other. I imagine that it's a lot of hard work because why would they make a tool with a seat on it? (They use electric coconut graters now. You don't get the same effect, but it's less stressful.)
Unfortunately, I'm not fond of dried coconut. I've always thought it tasted a bit artificial.
just bought my first bag of coconut - sweetened!