Coconut water is great for drinking as it’s very nutritious and delicious. If you’ve ever opened a large coconut, you’ll notice a large amount of liquid it has. For an average person, you won’t be able to drink it all in one sitting. Therefore, you’ll need to find a way to store it as coconut water goes bad fast. You’ll probably wonder if you can freeze coconut water to consume later.
So can you freeze coconut water? Yes, you can freeze coconut water. While it’s great that it can be put in the freezer, freezing it can compromise the taste of it. For those who love a fresh coconut with its sweet flavor, you’ll be disappointed after freezing it. However, for those who plan on using it for cooking or to make drinks such as smoothies, you won’t notice a change in flavor.
Best Practices For Freezing Coconut Water
While coconut water is a liquid, it doesn’t freeze as easily as tap water would. This is mainly due to the sugar content that’s in the coconut water.
Coconut water has a freezing point of about 27 degrees Fahrenheit, while water freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, it’s going to take longer for coconut water to freeze in your home freezer than tap water would.
Bottled or canned coconut water bought from the store will not need to be put in the freezer to keep them fresh. They are packaged in a way that will keep them fresh indefinitely. To keep them fresh, they should be stored in a cool dry place like the pantry. However, once it’s opened, you’ll need to put any coconut water that’s not consumed in the fridge or freezer right away to prevent them from going bad.
For fresh coconut, once you’ve opened it, you’ll need to consume it right away. Any liquid that’s not consumed should be frozen right away to keep them fresh.
Coconut Water Ice Cubes
Coconut water ice cubes are great for many things that require a small amount of coconut water at a time. They can be used to make smoothies or to make your favorite drinks. In addition, you can use them to make desserts or for cooking.
To freeze coconut water ice cubes, you’ll need an ice cube tray. There’s are many different sizes and shapes when it comes to an ice cube tray. Pick the one to your preference.
Once you have fresh coconut and the ice cube tray ready, open the coconut and slowly pour the liquid from the coconut into the tray. After the tray is filled, put them into the freezer until it’s completely frozen.
Once it’s frozen, to protect the odors and flavors from other items in the freezer, you’ll need to put the coconut water ice cubes in a freezer-safe Ziplock bag.
You can put the entire tray inside the Ziplock bag or crack the ice cubes and put them in the bag. Either way is fine and should prevent your ice cubes from collecting odors and flavors from other items in the freezer.
Freezing Large Quantities of Coconut Water
If you enjoy using coconut water to make your favorite drinks or for cooking, it’s a great idea to freeze large quantities of coconut water. This way, you’ll always have coconut water on hand when you need them.
To freeze large quantities of coconut water, you’ll need a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. There are many different size bags to use, but try to use one that’s not too big. A medium-sized bag is perfect for most home freezers. You can stack them on top of each other to save space in the freezer.
Once you have fresh coconuts and a Ziplock bag ready, open the coconut and pour the coconut water into the bag. Avoid filling them to the top of the bag. Leave about an inch of space to allow the coconut water to expand as it freezes.
After all the Ziplock bags have been filled, put them in the freezer and lay them flat. If you have more than one bag of coconut water, you can stack them on top of each other. However, avoid stacking more than 3 bags on top of each other while it’s freezing. After it’s frozen, you can stack as much as you want on top of each other.
Besides Ziplock bags, you can opt to use an airtight container as well to freeze coconut water. Freezing coconut water in an airtight container is the same as freezing them in a Ziplock bag. Just be sure to leave about an inch of space in the container for the coconut water to expand as it freezes.
How To Thaw Frozen Coconut Water
Coconut water is easy to thaw just like you would with frozen water. To thaw them, simply take them out of the freezer and let them defrost.
Depending on what you’ll be using it for and when you need them, there are 3 common methods of doing so:
- If you don’t need to use coconut water right away, you take the frozen coconut water and let it defrost in the fridge. It will take about 6-8 hours for it to completely thaw in the fridge.
- If you need to use coconut water in a couple of hours, you can have it defrost on your counter at room temperature. If it’s really hot, it can thaw completely in about 2 hours. If it’s warm, it may take a couple of hours. When thawing them on the countertop, make sure to put them in a bowl or on a plate to catch condensation that may drip off the frozen container.
- If you need coconut water quickly, you can place the sealed Ziplock bag or the airtight container in a sink of lukewarm water and let it thaw. Avoid using hot water as it could cook the coconut water and have an off taste to it.
Using Frozen Coconut Water
If you made ice cubes out of coconut water, you can simply put them in your favorite drinks. As it melts, the flavor of the coconut will infuse your drinks with a lovely, cool, and sweet taste.
Some people don’t like the taste of water and by adding coconut water ice cubes to it, you’ll give your water a nice sweet flavor.
If you’re cooking and want to add some sweet flavoring to the food, you can break off a piece of the frozen coconut water and add it to the food.
As you can see, there are many ways you can use frozen coconut water.
How Long Does Coconut Water Last?
Coconut water will last for months if the coconut hasn’t been opened yet. If it has, the coconut water will go bad in a day. This is because the liquid is exposed to air and bacteria. Therefore, the flavor and nutritional value of coconut water will begin to deteriorate within 24 hours.
To keep them fresh for longer than a day, you’ll need to store the coconut water in the fridge or freeze it in the freezer.
How To Tell When Coconut Water Go Bad?
There are some signs to look for when coconut water goes bad. Below are some of the things to look for:
Odor: Coconut water should have a light and fruity smell to it. If it smells sour or has an off smell, it’s best to just throw it away.
Consistency: The liquid in the coconut should be slightly thicker than water. If the coconut water has a milky consistency, it has gone bad and you should discard the entire thing.
Carbonation: If the coconut water has bubbles in it when it’s sitting still, it should be thrown away.
Taste: If all the above seems fine, you’ll want to taste a small sample of it. Good coconut water will have a fruity sweet taste to it. If it tastes sour or has any other taste than sweet, it’s probably bad and should be thrown away.
If you suspect any of the signs above that the coconut water is bad, it’s best to just throw them out. Consuming coconut water that has gone bad could cause stomach aches, vomiting, and diarrhea due to the bacteria growing in the water.
Related Questions
Can you freeze a coconut?
The coconut itself can keep the liquid inside of it fresh for months. However, if there are any cracks in it, the coconut will start going bad very quickly, especially if the temperature is warm.
Freezing the entire coconut is fine, but you’ll end up taking a lot of space in the freezer for just one coconut. Additionally, it’ll take a long time to freeze the coconut and a long time to thaw it as well.
Instead, if you need to freeze a coconut, it’s best to crack it open and freeze the meat and water of the coconut separately. Make sure to store them in an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag to keep them fresh.
Is yellow coconut water bad?
Coconut water will have a slightly yellow color when you pour it into a glass. You should be able to see through the other side of the glass. However, if it is very yellow which you can’t see through the glass, and it’s accompanied by a bad smell, the coconut water is bad.