myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

mmmmm

Had some Coconut water and it was lush. Is it easy to get it here??

Just cooked some doubles. Not the same experience as eating them in Tobago but tasted pretty good!!!

If you mean "here" in Leiston, Kylie, then you might have a bit of a search. But if you mean "here" in Tobago, then you'll see coconut sellers all over the place. I hasten to reassert, after my unfortunate incident, that it will certainly not stop me drinking coconut milk (water), but I will avoid "bottled" coconut water like the plague. Most times you buy it (there's always a couple of guys selling coconut at the bottom of Shirvan Road, just after you turn off the main drag to Scarborough) you get it from fresh nuts. The guys will lop the top off and you drink it direct. Yes, like all fruit, there can be the odd 'bad' one, but the guys will spot that the moment they take the top off.

I would be very surprised to find it in Leiston as the coconut tress have now all gone!!! Was thinking about getting some in the UK though. I know you can buy little brown coconuts from Supermarkets but they only have a dribble of water in them....

I hope they weren't all frazzled by Sizewell..

Seriously, you can get tinned coconut milk over here. It's a much thicker, condensed, version of the product. Great for making pina coladas, but not for drinking. The coconut water has to be drunk fresh, so it only works straight from the green nuts.

I reckon Sizewell could even help some trees grow (not sure if that is a good enough reason to justify it's existence!!!).

Shame you can't get the water here - oh well, another good reason to go back!!!

Steve!

I can't believe that with all your local knowledge, you don't know your coconuts

Coconut water and coconut milk (including the canned stuff) are quite different - coconut water is the clearish fluid that is found sloshing around inside the nut when you break it open...even old coconuts will have a little of this liquid. Coconut milk is produced from taking an old coconut (like the ones you find in the UK), breaking it open, extracting the hard white flesh, grating it, steeping it in water, and then straining it to produce the 'milk'. Coconut milk has quite a high fat content, whereas the water contains natural sugars and minerals.

Here endeth the lesson!

Pardon!!!

Surely, that's exactly what I said above. You can get the milk here, not the water.

I think you better take a little less rum with your water, Rachel

Apologies, Steve, it's just where you said:

"It's a much thicker, condensed, version of the product."

Looked as though you might be referring to coconut water.
I should've known you would know your coconuts

(And I think it's perhaps a case too much water and no rum as yet!)

For those with some extra time on their hands, here are instructions on how to make coconut milk:

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingred ... cmilk.html

I think I'll just buy it in the cans.

Some recipes for callaloo soup (yummmmm) call for coconut milk, but the recipes on the internet vary widely in ingredients.

Hi again all,

Do you know that the coconuts even have their own website?

Everything you ever need to know (but were afraid to ask) about why the coconut is one of the greatest gifts of this planet.... (now I know that coconut water is an isotonic beverage goes some way in explaining my 'feel good' energy factor after downing a glass-full...)

Pity you can't buy the water over here! I wonder if we could grow coconuts here in Dorset? Maybe I could nip to Cornwall and visit the Eden Project - who knows they may have young coconuts growing in one of their domes

For those who wish to check this website out the url is -


http://www.youngcoconuts.com

Terry

Hi all,

my experiences with coconut water are that no mosquito bites me after having a lot of coconut water (not milk) direktly from the coconuts a friend took down for me from a tree.
Normaly mosquito see me arriving at the airport (I can hear them wisteling: there she is again, lets have a big meal tonight!). They eat me, especially the sand flys! This time in October when I was in Tobago I had much less mosquito bites after this very fresh coconut water. Will try it again in February, but it will not keep me away from my Carib

Cheers
Gisela

By the way: does anybody know where to find Carib in Germany? I'm looking for it for years now but never found some (and sorry for my English I'm still improving).