Ambrosia

Freshly Grated Coconut
Try our heat-and-crack method for getting the meat out of the shell.

1. Pierce soft areas at the top of coconut (the eyes) with an ice pick or clean screwdriver. Drain the milk.
2. Bake coconut at 400° for 15 minutes. Using oven mitts, wrap hot coconut with a kitchen towel, bringing 4 corners together and twisting to form a handle. Hold the handle in one hand as you hit wrapped coconut with a hammer. Remove meat from shell with a knife.Note: Heating helps separate the meat from the thick, outer shell. A thin, brown skin will still cover the meat.
3. Remove brown skin with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Grate coconut--you'll have 2 1/2 to 3 cups of coconut. Test Kitchens professional Rebecca Kracke Gordon recommends using a Y-shaped peeler and hand grating with a microplane grater (available at most kitchen shops) or the fine side of a box grater.