Liza,

here are my 2 cents (or my 50 cents?) about coconuts.

There are essentially two varieties of coconuts available commercially.
The cheapest costs about 50 cents in the US (2.50 francs in France), is
sold in supermarkets and in Chinatowns. The flesh is about 5 mm thick,
and is tough.

The more expensive (usually from Thailand) has the shape of a hut (not the
husk, but it's the soft matter around which is hut-shaped). The flesh is
soft and thin (about 1-2 mm).

Depending on the degree of freshness of your (cheap) coconut, the flesh
may be more or less dry. It can be preserved for some time at air
temperature, but it does spoil after some time. Probably younger coconuts
are more pleasant to eat, but I have never seen them in any store.

There is another parameter, which can be understood better in the language
of instinctive nutrition: the texture seems drier when your body doesn't
need coconut, i.e. it can happen that when you start eating your coconut,
it tastes delicious, but it becomes more and more chewy as your body's
needs are satisfied.

The three dark spots are natural parts of the coconut, and are a
convenient place to extract the juice.

Best wishes,

Jean-Louis
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