Coconut and King coconut are the most beneficial fruits in the fruit world. But many people have difficulty recognizing coconuts and king coconuts. Because of this issue, most people are deceived by cunning sellers. But do not worry. After reading this article, I am sure you may become an expert in distinguishing king coconut and coconut.
The Difference Between King Coconut And Coconut
Basically, you can identify the difference between king coconut and coconut or green coconut by examining many factors, including their outer appearance, husk, shell, and flesh. So, let’s see one by one to distinguish king coconut and coconut clearly.
The outer skin color of king coconut vs. coconut
Usually, when you see something, you can first recognize it from its external appearance. So, you can apply this method to identify the difference between king coconut and coconut.
King coconut is bright orange. But there is a king coconut verity, namely, “Gon thambili”, and it has a beautiful yellow hue.
Additionally, if you check carefully, you can notice occasional dark marks or abrasions on the skin of some king coconuts.
However, you can see this bright orange or yellow color when the king coconut is young. When they gradually matured, their outer skin turns dark orange to brown color.
When you consider the appearance of coconuts, they are green in color. But when they gradually mature, their outer skin color turns into brown and dark brown.
The outer surface of king coconut vs. coconut
King coconut has a very soft outer skin. If you touch the skin of king coconut, you can feel it. But when you turn into coconut, it has a pretty rough outer peel.
Shape and size of king coconut vs. coconut
King coconut has an elongated oval shape. It is a bit small than football. Also, king coconut has a pointed end opposite of the stem. When it comes to examining the shape of the coconut, it has an oval or ellipsoid shape.
Then we move to the size of these two members of the same family. King coconut is around 20-30 cm in length.
On the other hand, coconut is approximately 30-45 cm or 12-18 inches in length and 15-20 cm or 6-8 inches in diameter.
So, when comparing the size of these two, ordinary coconut or green coconut is larger than king coconut.
Husk and shell of king coconut vs. coconut
Generally, king coconut’s husk is not much thick. If you ever cut and drink king coconut water one day, you may have noticed that king coconut does not have a thick husk. However, when they matured, their husk becomes thicker than young fruit.
But coconut’s husk is not like that. Coconut has a thick fibrous husk. So, when you cut the coconut, you have to use a sharp stake or knife.
Generally, both king coconut and ordinary coconut or green coconut have a shell. This shell covers the insignificant embryo with abundant endosperm composed of both liquids, namely coconut water or king coconut water and flesh or meat.
So, when we consider the difference between coconut shells and king coconut, green coconut has a tough shell, and king coconut shell is not much hard. But when king coconut gets mature, its shell also tends to be hard.
Flesh or meat of king coconut vs. coconut
King coconut does not have much flesh inside it. The flesh or meat of king coconut is soft, and it is a gel-like layer. But you can gently scrape out it from a spoon and taste it. Further, the king coconut flesh is sweeter than coconut meat.
But coconut has thicker and white meat. You can not scrape the coconut meat by using a spoon like king coconut due to the hardness of the flesh.
Also, not like king coconut, you can get coconut milk from coconut flesh. King coconut does not have the potential to mature to get coconut milk. Not only coconut milk, but you can also get coconut oil from the coconut flesh.
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King coconut water vs. Green coconut water
King coconut water is the main thing that people tend to love the king coconuts. Thus, it is more delicious with its sweet flavor. You can taste the difference of green coconut vs king coconut from below two products.
Moreover, king coconut water consists of natural fructose, sucrose, and glucose. In deeply, according to WebMD, king coconut water contains 1.3 grams of sugar, 5.45 calories, 5.45 milligrams of sodium, and 61 milligrams of potassium. Also, it is more taste due to the low calories with a higher level of potassium.
But when it comes to coconut water, it is sweet but not as sweet as king coconut water. When coconut gradually matured, coconut water turns into the flesh.
Harvesting king coconut vs. coconut
Generally, king coconut is harvested when they are young. It means growers pick king coconut from the tree at around 7 to 8 months. When considering the availability or season, king coconut is available year-round.
The harvesting time of the coconut can be varied due to the purpose. For instance, if you want to harvest the coconut for coconut water, you can pluck it after 6 to 7 months. But if you are looking for delicious coconut flesh, you have to wait for another 5 to 6 months.
King coconut tree vs. coconut tree
Generally, king coconut trees can grow up to around 20 to 30 meters tall and has orange or yellow color twigs.
But coconut trees can grow up to around 60 to 100 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. Also, this tree has huge leaves 15 feet long. Further twigs of coconut trees are green in color.
So, when comparing these two trees, the king coconut tree is generally a bit shorter than the coconut tree.
Additionally, this tree height can vary in genetically modified varieties because they are extremely short.
Native countries of king coconut and coconut
King coconut is native to Sri Lanka, and it sits just on the southern tip of India. Usually, you can find king coconut trees in the wild of that country. But now you can find king coconut in islands in Indonesia also. Luckily, king coconut trees can grow on this island without any human intervention.
But coconut trees are native to Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia. Further, you can find coconut in India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Laccadives.
Usages of king coconut vs. coconut
Mainly king coconut is used as a natural healthy drink. In addition to that, you can taste the flesh of the king coconut.
You can use coconut to get coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut water. In addition to that, you can use coconut shells, husks too.