DIY Coconut Bowls

Ingredients:

• Coconut

Tools:

• Saw (wood or hacksaw)
• Knife or peeler
• Sandpaper
• Vegetable or Canola oil
• Work gloves
• Marker (eg Sharpie)
• Paper towel

Method:

1. Scrape off the husk as much as possible with a knife or vegetable peeler. The latter is a safer option, but always remember to use these tools safely.
2. When most of the husk is removed, switch to sandpaper to smooth out the exterior of the shell.
3. Draw a line around the coconut where you would like to cut. One way to get this line even is to spin the coconut on its end while holding the marker steady.
4. At this point, get your saw and start cutting, take as many safety measures as needed to feel safe. The shell is very hard and get started by sawing the saw towards yourself until a groove is established. Once the flesh is reached, rotate the coconut to continue the cut without further cutting the flesh of the coconut.
5. Once the cut is complete around the circumference, separate the two halves. If you want to capture the water inside, do this over a bowl.
6. Use a small knife or spoon to pry the flesh from the interior of shell. Then scrape out excess inner coconut skin with a spoon
7. Leave to dry for 10 minutes, then sand them inside and out.
8. Some of our research showed that if you sand the outer ends of the shell it will sometimes stand on it's own. It takes a long time to sand down the point at the top of the coconut but the bottom halves stood with only a little bit of sanding. We opted to stabilize the top bowls with ramekins and finish them later. The bottoms shells stood on their own perfectly.
9. Use a paper towel to apply oil to the interior and exterior of the shell. Repeat this process 5 times.
10. Add some delicious looking food and take amazing pictures.