Coconut Cupcakes

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

 

Food historians don't quite know exactly when and where coconuts originated.

Botanists disagree about whether the species originated in the region of the East Indies and Melanesia, as most think, or in tropical America, as a minority have vigorously argued. The minority view is supported by the fact that almost all the coconut palm's relations are in America, the one important exception being the oil palm, which is African. Yet the coconut has, at most, an exigius history in Central America in pre-Columbian times, the evidence that the earliest Spanish invaders found it growing on the west coast of the Isthmus of Panama is uncertain; and if it was growing there it is odd that its cultivation was not widespread, since it is so useful. In contrast, the coconut has been known in East Asia and the islands for a very long time indeed, it exists in greater variety in that region, and there is another evidence (including the number of species of insects associated with it in the various regions) that it did originate there, probably in Melanesia. There is also an interesting diversity of views about the origin of the name 'coconut'. Child (1974) gives a good account of these and comes down in favour of the etymology which commands most acceptance, that 'coco' was first used towards the end of the 15th century by Portuguese seamen, who applied to the nut, with its three 'eyes', the Spanish word coco, referring to a monkey's or other grotesque face. When Linnaeus gave a scientific name to the tree in the 18th century, he toyed with Coccus (coccus, berry in Latin) but settled on Cocos. It was also in the 18th century that the notorious confusion between cocnut and cocoanut began. The blame for this seems to rest with Dr. Johnson, who confused the two in a single entry in his dictionary (1755), and one still occasionally comes across 'cocoanut' when 'cocunut' is meant. The term 'coker-nut', an old variant of coconut, was at one time in commerical use in the Port of London, to avoid the confusion, and remains in popular use.
Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 199)

Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide as much information as one might want on the coconut in prehistory. This is becuase heat and humidity work agains the preservation of fossils, and thus there are is a dearth of archaelogical materials, coprolites, and biological remains on tropical seashores where the coconut palm is native. Coconut residues do not accumulate because the palm grows and fruits the year round. This makes crop storage unnecessary and, in fact, because of their high water content, coconut seednuts cannot be stored; they either grow or rot. In 1501, King Manuel of Portugal itemized some of its uses at a time when the coconut was first becoming known in Europe. 

Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas (Cambridge University Press:Cambridge) 2000, Volume One (p. 388)
 

Note, This book contains much more information than can be paraphrased here. It also includes an extensive bibliography for additional study. If your information on the many uses of coconuts, ask your librarian to help you find a copy.

Coconut...The word is a combination of a Portuguese children's term, coco, for the "goblin" shell of the fruit and the English word "nut." The fruit was first mentioned in English print in 1555, and the first American reference was in 1834. The origins of the coconut have never been fully understood, but some believe it is native to tropical America and was dispersed to Pacific Islands by the drift of pods through the ocean. Coconuts were known in Egypt by the 6th century AD, and Marco Polo noted them in India and elsewhere in the Far East. Certainly coconuts were encountered on the Pacific shores of South America and Hawaii, but coconut is not a major crop in the latter.
Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani (Lebhar-Friedman:New York) 1999 (p. 88)

How did coconuts get to colonial America? Excellent question! A survey of early American cookbooks confirms coconuts were available in whole, fresh form. Not tinned or pre-packaged. Most likely, they were shipped from the West Indies region. Food historians generally agree coconuts were not indigenous to the West Indies/Caribbean region. They introduced to this area after Columbus by European settlers. By the 19th century coconuts, were growing in this area and were shipped north to the United States. In the late 18^th early 19th centuries fresh fruits from tropical regions did not fare well on long journeys. This may account for the traditional popularity/proliferation of coconut in the Southern recipes. Pineapples follow a similar pattern.

Food historians say on the topic:

Columbus took vegetable seeds, wheat, chick-peas, and sugar cane to the Caribbean on his later voyages, Columbia's second governor introduced the first cows that had ever been seen there, settlers took bananas, rice and citrus fruits, yams and cowpeas crossed the Atlantic with the slaves. Coconuts were introduced to the Bahamas, breadfruit to the Caribbean, and coffee to Brazil.
Food in History, Reay Tannahill (Three River Press:New York) 1988 (p.220)

Just when the coconut palm appeared on American shores is open to debate, but some accounts tell that on southern plantations coconut meat was used for making the holiday dessert, ambrosia.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor (Oxford University Press:New York) 2004, Volume 1 (p. 265)

There are coconuts in Florida today, but there were none then (1519), and even those we have now are the result of an accident: the schooner Providence, carrying coconuts from the West Indies, was wrecked off the coast of Florida in 1879, the nuts floated ashore and took root. Though the Providence's coconuts came from the West Indies, it is almost certain that Columbus never saw any there. The Spaniards reported fully on new foods enountered in the Caribbean area and in Mexico, but none of them ever mentioned the coconut. There were coconuts in America before Columbus, for they are pictured in pre-Columbian pottery, but they were on the wrong side of America to be found by Columbus, on the coasts of Chile and Peru, suggesting that the coconut, a great floater, had drifted across from the Pacific Islands.
Eating in America: A History, Waverly Root & Richard de Rochemont (William Morrow:New York) 1976 (p. 44)

By the 1850s ships from Florida were delivering fruits and vegetables there twice a month, and by the middle of the century pineapples and coconuts were arriving from Cuba, from other West Indian islands, and even from Central America.
ibid (p. 154)

By http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq.html#coconuts

 

Coconut Cupcakes

Copyright 2011 Christine's Pantry. All rights reserved.

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) box white cake mix

2 (3.4 oz) coconut cream instant pudding and pie filling

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups water

1 (8 oz) container cool whip

sweetened coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a large bowl, add cake mix, coconut cream instant pudding and pie filling, eggs, vegetable oil, water. Mix well. Line regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Fill the cups half full with batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or when toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. When cool enough, remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Making sure cupcakes are completely cool before frosting. Top with cool whip and coconut. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!