History of Coconuts
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Coconut gets its name from the word coco, which in Spanish and Portuguese means, hold your breath, 'monkey face'! They say this name was given by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, who thought the 3 round spots at the bottom of the coconut made it look just like a monkey. The first mention of the word coconut in written form in English was in the year 1555.
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Coconuts are fruits of the coconut palm plant, the botanical name for which is cocos nucifera. These palms originally came from Polynesia, Malaysia and southern parts of Asia. Now they are found all over Florida, Hawaii, South America and India.
Interestingly, the Sanskrit name for coconut palm tree is kalpa vriksha, which translates to 'a tree that gives everything needed for living'. This is because almost every part of this plant is used by man to fulfill his many needs. The fruit of a coconut not only has water and milk that can be drunk, it also comes with properties like sugar and oil which are used for cooking purposes. Even by itself, the shell of the fruit can be utilized as a dish or cup! Earlier the husk used to be used as fuel, but today coir is extracted from it and used to make everyday products like mats, fishnets, brushes and rope. The coconut palm’s sap too has its use, since potent toddy is made from it.
Coconut oil, which is extracted from desiccated coconut meat, has many uses too. It is used for cooking and for making certain edibles like candies and margarines, and non-edibles like cosmetics and soaps. If all that was not enough, it is believed that the entire coconut was used as money for bartering, by the tribes of Nicobar Islands located in the Indian Ocean.
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