Pink Coconut Water?! page

[Super Gaily Girl]

So, I just opened a young thai coconut and the water was a kind of pale pink and the flesh was also a pale browny pink colour. Also, there was hardly any meat in there at all?!

It tastes completely normal - just not sure if I should eat it?!

Any ideas what that's all about? Safe to eat?

[TigerLily]

No! That one has gone bad.

It happens. Over time you will become better at avoiding picking the bad ones. You can take it back and exchange it for another.

[Super Gaily Girl]

Ah... Thanks. Shame though. I don't see them very often - so they are a real once in a while treat.

I just read someplace else that they are sometimes pink when very young.... Wishful thinking probably!

[TigerLily]

Not so much now since it's gotten chilly and rainy here, but over the summer I was having fresh coconut water every single day and the ladies at the asian market were talking about me.

The pink ones are definitely bad. The fact that yours doesn't have the usual associated alcohol smell tells me that it's just gone bad/just over the borderline. Had you opened it tomorrow, there probably would have been that characteristic smell, too.

The meat should always be as white as a sheet of paper. If you see that it's turned pink or mauve, that's the thumbs down sign.

When you are selecting one in the market, flip it over and make sure there isn't any mold or weird discoloration along the bottom. Also, you want to try as much as possible to select one where the pointy tip is not black.

Anyway, yeah, you can take that one back and exchange it. I've never had any problems doing that.

[Super Gaily Girl]

Thanks for the tips - I've had a couple of real gooduns since ;-)