Coconut cocos nucifera - Coconut palm The coconut is a tropical palm which grows to heights of up to 25 metres. Written about and depicted since earliest times, it is probably the most important of the cultivated palms, with every part of the plant being used in some form or another. In Sri Lanka, a major exporter of coconuts, it is said that the coconut has 99 uses; in Kerala, in southern India, it is known as ‘God's gift to God's own Country’; in some other parts of India, it is known as ‘the tree of heaven’; and the Sanskrit name for the coconut palm translates as ‘a tree which furnishes all the necessities of life’. A palm starts to yield nuts from between 6-10 years from planting and can continue to be fruitful for up to one hundred years. Each tree has around 30 leaves and produces 12 new leaves each year to replace a similar number that die off. Conveniently, a new leaf is born each month and with each leaf, a flower which, after 12 months produces between 5-10 mature oval nuts, about 30cm long. The flowers also yield a sweet juice which, when boiled down, produces a dark-brown, caramel-flavoured sugar called jaggery. If left to ferment, which takes only a matter of hours, this becomes an alcoholic drink known as toddy which, in turn, can then be distilled further to make a very potent and, in some places, quite popular spirit called arrak. The leaves themselves are used to make thatching, mats, fans, screens and baskets, and the top bud, or 'palm cabbage' is considered a culinary delicacy, as is the central part of a young palm's stem. The husks are used as organic fertiliser, can be turned into a fuel for the manufacture of bricks and are a traditional source of domestic fuel in the regions where the palms are grown. The husk fibre, coir, is used to make rope, cord and matting. The hard brown shells are turned into charcoal, then into activated carbon for use in water and gas purification filters and in battery manufacture. The inner brown skin and imperfect coconuts are smoked and dried to make copra, which is used to produce coconut oil, is used in cooking and in the production of soaps, candles, cosmetics and hair preparations. Even the root, which possesses mildly narcotic properties, is sometimes chewed. Inside each coconut is the natural ‘milk’, a sweet-tasting opaque liquid which can be used as a drink or marinade. 200ml of this natural coconut milk contains about 57 kcalories, around 12g carbohydrate, 0.7g protein and less than 0.55g fat. Coconut flesh, however, contains 351 kcalories per 100g and is cholesterol-free. The total fat content of the same amount of coconut is 36g, 86% of which are saturated fats, making it one of only two vegetable oils high in saturated fats, (the other being palm oil), although recent research indicates that it may not be the ‘harmful’ type found in animal and dairy produce and may even help to reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels. It is a good source of fibre, containing just over 7% and potassium, which works with sodium to regulate the body's water balance and ensure normal heart rhythm and is essential for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles. Low potassium intake has been associated with palpitations and high blood pressure. Ayurveda, the ancient study of life and maintenance of its natural harmony, regards coconut milk as cooling, a mild laxative diuretic, and good for heartburn, kidney diseases, an recommends it as an ideal remedy for fever, nausea and cardiac weaknesses. The flesh itself is one of the major ingredients in south Indian cookery and is used fresh; in shredded and dried (desiccated) form; liquidised and set in to solid blocks, which is marketed as creamed coconut; liquidised and mixed with water and used as coconut milk or cream to thicken and add a nutty sweetness to a dish. Southern Indians use coconut not only as an ingredient in its own right, but also as a spice, either ground with other spices and flavourings to form a base masala ,often for non-vegetarian dishes, or fried lightly as a tempering and added as a final ‘blessing’ to a finished dish. To ring the changes even further, sometimes the coconut is lightly roasted first to add a deeper, nuttier taste. Even plain, steamed rice can benefit from the addition of a little coconut in any one of its various forms. However, it's not just Asian cooking that can profit from the addition of a little coconut cream. Used instead of cream in a sauce for chicken, fish or light meats, or added as a swirl in a soup, it can add a certain extra dimension to traditional European dishes. It is even good in bread making, adding a sweet, creamy flavour. Added just before the end of cooking, it is also a good, natural thickener for stews and casseroles, and when added to a stir-fry, it can provide an instant, rich-tasting sauce - which can even be given a further zing with a squeeze of lime juice. Coconut cream can even be used as an instant dip by just adding a little flavouring, such as a little chilli with a few popped black mustard seeds. Then, of course, there are the obvious dessert uses: coconut crême caramel; coconut brulée; syllabub; mousse; soufflé; trifle; rice pudding; swirled into a pouring custard or sauce; made into an ice cream, parfait or kulfi; pancake batters; added to marscapone cheese for an interesting alternative to custard. Naturally, such an important food attracts superstition, one of these being in southern India that coconuts should not be cracked after sundown, but that breaking one open at a special occasion will bring luck, being used rather like the ceremonial cutting of a ribbon at some events.