Is coconut water supposed to taste sour? ?

Question

I bought 5 coconuts about 5 days ago and let them sit on my table. The water tastes sour. Are you supposed to refrigerate these or something?

Answer 1

They could have soured, or you're just not used to unsweetened coconut.  If you've only had flaked coconut or coconut cream, which is highly sweetened, then fresh might taste sour to you......

Answer 2

it's a little tart/sourish, but it shouldnt be totally nasty tasting

Answer 3

No , your coconuts are rotten!

Answer 4

Yes, coconut water is a bit sour and no, coconuts don't need refrigeration.  They're tropical fruits after all, so they're used to a warmer environment.  

About the taste though, it depends on several things.  Like, how old  were the fruits when they were picked; the place where the parent palms were grown; plant variety; storage time; and the least, temperature.  

There are several varieties of coconut.  In my place alone, the Philippines, we grow at least 3 kinds - one of them with no water at all.  The other two are distinguished by the color of their husks: one is a golden orange color, the other is a better-known green variety that turns dull brown over time.  

The latter has a thicker shell, more meat and water, and has a gentler flavor than the first.  It is usually grown far inland, closer to fresh water.  The newly-picked young fruits are excellent thirst quenchers, and people in my place just love snacking on it whenever it's available.  The older fruits are used to make cooking oil and bio-diesel.

The orange-husked variety is a hardier kind, and can grow where the other one can't - like someplace a bit drier, or closer to the sea.  Because of that, it has a much stronger flavor, and a higher sugar content.  But because it has less meat, the water is used to make white vinegar, and tu'ba - sweet coconut wine.

The longer a coconut stays and ages on the palm, the stronger and sharper its flavor gets...pick it early at the right age, but store it for an awfully long time, the flavor fades OR if it's a high-sugar variety, then it turns sour fast.

If the sourness is close to the taste of Gatorade, it's perfectly fine...nothing to worry about.  You can always add a little sugar and some evaporated milk...then you might want to chill it down a bit, pop in some ice cubes and unflavored gelatin...get one of those li'l umbrellas, a bendy straw and voila, your own tropical treat!  Enjoy.

Answer 5

Ew, no.

Answer 6

You may have needed to refridgerate them but I don't think it really matters. The coconut milk is unsweetened, in other terms, not something we associate with coconut when what we normally get is sweet.  I think coconuts have that sour taste anyway.  

I only say this because when I was in India, they had guys on the side of the road with TONS of coconut that they would cut a hole in and stick a straw in it for you to drink. Natural coconut. "Tender coconut" is what they called it. And it tasted sour. Watered, unsweetened, coconut "milk."