Coconut water is a delicious and healthy change to plain water and is best enjoyed fresh out of the shell! You can store any coconut water that you couldn’t quite finish in the fridge for a few days. But what happens if you want to preserve it for longer?
Can You Freeze Coconut Water?
Yes, you can freeze coconut water for up to 2 months. If you’re freezing a carton containing coconut water, you can place it in the freezer as it is. Coconut water from an actual coconut will need to be drained and placed into a container.
Do Does Coconut Water freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Coconut Water? No
How to Freeze Coconut Water
We need to start this section with a caveat – freezing coconut water will cause it to lose some of its sweet and delicious flavours.
As such, you should only consider freezing coconut water if you’re going to use it in smoothies or other cooking recipes, where a loss in its sweetness won’t necessarily be an issue.
If you’ve purchased coconut water in a carton or plastic container, you can go ahead and place it straight in the freezer.
However, if you have a fresh coconut from which you will extract the water for freezing, there are a couple of ways you can freeze coconut water, and we introduce them below:
How to Freeze Coconut Water in an Ice Cube Tray
Pour your coconut water into the ice cube tray and allow it to freeze. Once they’ve frozen solid, transfer your coconut ice cubes to a freezer-safe bag, and seal for long-term storage.
How to Freeze Coconut Water in a Bag
Crack open your coconut and pour the water straight into a thick freezer-safe bag. Make sure you leave sufficient space as coconut water expands during the freezing process. Seal and label the bag before placing it on a flat surface in the freezer.
3 Tips for Freezing Coconut Water
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing coconut water to have the best results:
Use Coconut Water Quickly
Coconut water doesn’t stay fresh for very long once it has been opened. While most commercially bought coconut water products have a shelf-life of a couple of months, you should drink the water within 24 hours of using if possible. So, if you plan to freeze it, make sure it’s still fresh as you prepare it for the freezer.
Freeze the Flesh too
While you might think that the water is the main attraction of coconut, you shouldn’t let the flesh go to waste. Once you’ve frozen the water, scoop the flesh out and slice or shred it before placing it in a freezer-safe bag. It makes a healthy snack and is also a great addition to smoothies.
Enjoy Cubes From Frozen
On a hot summer’s day, coconut ice cubes are a refreshing delight! You can add them to a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for a coconut twist.
How Long Can You Freeze Coconut Water?
You can freeze coconut water for around two months.
Remember that coconut water won’t stay fresh for very long after it has been opened (24 hours at most). So, be sure to prepare your coconut water for the freezer as quickly as you can, so it’s nice and fresh once it has thawed.
How Do You Defrost Coconut Water?
Coconut water thaws just like any other water! Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature. If you’re not in a rush and want to enjoy the coconut water nice and cold, leave it to thaw in the fridge.
Alternatively, you don’t necessarily need to defrost coconut water. If you’re using it in a smoothie, for instance, you can add your cubes to the blender as they are and enjoy the coconut twist while keeping the temperature of your smoothie nice and cool.
Can You Refreeze Coconut Water?
Coconut water loses some of its sweetness after it has been frozen, so we wouldn’t advise you to freeze it again. As more water from the freezer is added to the coconut water, it will dilute it even more.
If you think you will only use small servings of your coconut water each time, consider freezing it in your ice cube tray, as this makes it easy to control your portion sizes.
Does Coconut Water Freeze Well?
It would be fair to say that coconut water freezes reasonably well. Of course, the loss of sweetness during the freezing process isn’t ideal, but it shouldn’t affect you too much if you’re using coconut water in other recipes and smoothies.
Because coconut water doesn’t have a great shelf-life once it has been opened, freezing it is a good solution and will ensure you don’t let this delicious treat go to waste.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing coconut water or coconut water in general, then these may help:
The freezing point of coconut water is around 27F or -3C. This is a little lower than the freezing point of water which is 32F or 0C. However, home freezers are much lower than this so it may just take a few minutes longer to freezer versus freezing water.
Yes, fresh coconut water can be frozen. You’ll need to drain it from the shell before deciding on a portion size to freeze it in. You could freeze the entire contents in a freezer bag or you could choose to freeze it into cubes.
Unopened coconut water in a carton can last for up to a year. But once it is open, you need to consume it quickly and keep it stored in the fridge. Ideally, you’ll finish the carton within a couple of days. After this, you may notice the quality degrade and it will begin to go bad.
