Coconut Water

Coconut Water is one beverage that I miss a lot from Thailand. It's the watery liquid found inside young coconuts. It's nothing like coconut milk, which is made by pressing the mature coconut "flesh", but light and delicate with a slight flowery taste. In Thailand, it's usually served with a straw right from the coconut. When the water is drunk you can spoon out the coconut gel - that is the stuff that, when the coconut ages, will transform into regular coconut flesh.

In Sweden there are several canned versions of coconut water. The ones I've tried before have all been really bad, either way to sweet or with a strange artificial note added to it. But at my latest Asian Supermarket haul I came across a good one:

The label says it does contain sugar, but I didn't find it any sweeter than the stuff coming right out of a coconut. Also, you can see the coconut gel floating around in the bottle.

Another thing I learnt in Thailand, if you drink coconut water while having your period the bleeding decreases. This is also true for having star fruit (carambole). I've no idea why but this is something that all Thai women seem to be aware of. Good to know when on a beach holiday :)