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NUTS AND KERNELS

Description: COCONUTS - "Growers" (nuts beginning to sprout through the eye under tuft), "Bad Shakers" (nuts short of liquid content), and "Cracked Nuts" should be rejected prior to shipment. It is important that coconuts be kept out of the sun, as the nuts may become sun cracked and arrive dry. A cool ventilated space should be selected for stowage. Coconuts are liable to heat and steam. Subject to a natural loss in weight due to drying. See also OILSEEDS, general remarks. Coconuts are the stone fruits of the coconut palm of the palm family (Palmae, Arecaceae), which flourish best in tropical coastal regions (salt spray). The native habitat of the coconut palm is not known with certainty because coconuts can float for considerable distances in seawater without losing their ability to germinate. As a result, coconuts palms are now to be found on tropical beaches worldwide. 50 - 120 fruit may be harvested from a single coconut palm. Each fruit weighs 1 - 2.5 kg. The coco-de-mar or Seychelles double coconut is the largest coconut and may weigh as much as 20 kg. A longitudinal section through a coconut reveals the following structure: the coconut is enclosed in a leathery, glossy outer skin (exocarp), which is of a yellow-green to yellow-brown color and is watertight. Under the exocarp is a spongy, fibrous husk (coir) or mesocarp, which is 4 - 6 cm in thickness. This layer corresponds to the flesh (pulp) of other fruit. The fibrous husk is removed from the hard nut with a spike. The fibers are processed to produce carpeting, mats and the like. Removal of the coir reveals the familiar coconut. The outer layer of the coconut is a brown, very hard endocarp, approx. 0.5 cm thick, which is a rounded, triangular stone, the blunt end of which has three "eyes", i.e. germ pores set in pits. Moving inwards, the following layer is the solid endosperm, an oily layer 1 - 2 cm in thickness, which is protected by a brown seed coat and, once dried, yields copra. The seed coat contains antioxidants, which protect the oil-rich seed from atmospheric oxygen so preventing it from becoming rancid (oxidative rancidity). The kernel is hollow and 95% full of clear coconut milk (liquid endosperm). Coconuts, which are intended for transport, have generally already had the outermost two layers removed. Coconuts are shell fruit (nut types). Because of their similar characteristics with regard to transport, particularly their high oil content, their requirements regarding care during storage and transport are the same as those of oil-bearing seeds/fruits. Oil content: 30 - 40%
Index: 521
Commodity Name: NUTS AND KERNELS

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