Martha Stewart's Trick For Easily Extracting Water From A Coconut

If there's one food whose flavor instantly transports you to a sunny vacation, it's the coconut. The jewel of tropical palm trees, this hard-shelled fruit can take on a starring role in boozy cocktails like piña coladas, delicious desserts like custard pies, and even savory dishes such as curry and fried shrimp. Beyond its edible capabilities, coconuts can also be put to use in a range of creative ways, whether you turn their shells into planters or integrate their oils into your beauty routine. To put it simply, the coconut contains multitude of possibilities.

But sometimes, you might just be after one thing it contains: that lightly sweet, ultra-refreshing juice we call coconut water. Rich in nutrients and electrolytes, coconut water is considered an exceptionally healthy and hydrating beverage. And while you'll probably find it bottled at your local grocery store, it's hard to beat the taste of the fresh stuff right out of the shell. There's a reason it's so popular at juice bars and beach resorts.

Though the process of breaking into that hardened husk may seem intimidating if you're not a pro, leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with a simple trick that makes the task easy for everyone.

The cooking and lifestyle guru can always be counted on to save us headaches in the kitchen, and her method of extracting water from a coconut certainly does just that. Her tip? Simply poke the coconut in its "eye."

The outer shell of every coconut features three slightly indented dark circles (technically, germination pores), which are colloquially called the fruit's "eyes." As Stewart explains in a video posted on TikTok, one of these eyes is softer than the others, making it the easiest spot to puncture with the right tool. In her video, she uses a pointed metal coconut opener, but according to her website, even a common screwdriver will do.

Pierce the soft eye of the shell with your tool while pushing and twisting until you've broken through the outer layers. Once you've reached the fruit's inner cavity, all that's left is flipping it over into a glass and allowing that yummy liquid to drain out. You can also just stick a straw directly in the hole and sip it up vacation-style. Who knew beauty was in the eye of a coconut all along?