Coconut is a round and elongate fruit of white, fibrous and oily meat covered by a thick, brown and hairy shell. Coconuts are surrounded by a fibrous kernel, inside which is a white meat called copra. When the fruit is still tender it yields a milky fluid that is commonly used as basic food in some zones.

Coconuts represent an important nutritional supply in the diet of the Arabs in the desert. One hundred grams of this product provide with 363 to 669 kcal. The same amount supplies between 4.8 and 10.8 of glucids and around 9 g of fibre.

Among the minerals of this tropical fruit we underline the importance of potassium (35-650 mg for 100 g of produce) and chlorine (122-190 mg for 100 g of fresh produce).

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is a round and elongate fruit of white, fibrous and oily meat covered by a thick, brown and hairy shell. Coconuts are surrounded by a fibrous kernel, inside which is a white meat called copra. When the fruit is still tender it yields a milky fluid that is commonly used as basic food in some zones. There is a predominant use of coconut in the production of copra: the dried kernel of the coconut, from which oil is obtained. The remainders are used as animal fodder. Despite the fact that coconut oil is not one of the most important vegetable oils, it is a lauric oil, and as so it deserves a place in the world-wide market. The fruit of the coconut palm is the coconut and it is also intended for processing.

From these palms (coconut palms) we obtain coconuts. Coconuts weigh on the average 2.5 kg and in fact they are not nuts, but fruit in drupes. From these nuts we make ropes and other fibre products thanks to their external fibrous covering. They have an almond inside, consumed fresh or dried, from which we obtain copra. By means incising the coconut palm’s inflorescences and gathering the fluid (sap) exuding from them, we make fermented drinks, alcohol vinegar or sugar. The terminal buds of the palm tree are also consumed, fresh, in stews or as a vegetable (Coconut cabbage). From the coconut shell we can make drink containers and other utensils, or we can use it as coal.

The young green coconuts have a lot of milk and very few pulp, but with a very good taste and gelatinous texture; they are highly appreciated in the producing areas for their consumption. Coconuts are a basic ingredient in the Malayan, Indian and Indonesian cooking: the pulp is grated and added to pies, rice, meat or fish. In Europe and other non-producing areas, grated coconut gives an exotic touch to salads and preserves, custard, pudding, ice creams, cakes, biscuits and pies. It is also used for meat, fish or vegetable pastry.

Coconuts provide with many calories due to their high oil content. Their energetic value is around 363.3-669 kcal for each 100 grams of fresh produce. Potassium is one of their most important mineral component. Each 100 grams of edible fresh produce supply between 315-650 g of potassium and 810 g of selenium.

At present, the coconut culture has spread to many temperate areas, and has gained a great commercial value.

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is one of the most cultivated palms in the world and one of the most useful for the human being. It is mainly appreciated for its fruits or coconuts.

Cocos nucifera are a monoecious palm, that measures between 25 and 30 m high. Its trunk is marked by the scars of the leaves, it has 30 to 40 cm of diameter and a heavy base formed by roots. The trunk ends up in a bunch with twenty pinnate leaves that reach up to six and a half meters long. Every year 10 to 20 new leaves are formed, according to the variety and ecological conditions. The extremely developed root system is composed of thousands of thin and long roots.

The grafted inflorescences have a great number of flowers of both sexes. These inflorescences, or spadices, are contained in a great bract called spathe. The feminine flowers are born in the base of the ramifications, whereas the masculine flowers are above. After their fertilization the flowers are transformed into ovoid drupes, each one composed of a seed. This seed is the coconut, whose fibrous covering dries up and hardens when ripening.

The coconut itself is formed by a very hard endocarp, 5 mm thick, inside of which is the endosperm of a whitish colour and containing an opaline and sweetened fluid, "the coconut milk’, filling three quarters of its central cavity. The fruits are gathered in clusters of 10 to 15 coconuts.