I Am Not A Great Fan Of Coconuts,

but the next time we go anywhere and there is a shop specialising in nuts,

I will look for some of these miniature coconuts, photograph brionv/Flickr, they are coquitos, also known as pigmy coconuts or dwarf coconuts, they are the tiny equivalent of the coconuts we all know, but unlike the normal sized coconuts these do not have liquid inside of them, these miniature coconuts are the fruit of the Chilean wine palm, (Jubaea chilensis), a feather-leaved palm native to Chile, the Chilean wine palm gets its name from the sugary sap extracted from its trunk, which Chileans use to make wine and syrup. It takes up to fifty years to achieve maturity, and can live from a century, up to a millennium. Of the more than 2,600 known species of palms, Jubaea chilensis is the second most massive, with a thickness at its base that can exceed 2 meters, according to Melissa’s, a Californian produce company that sells coquitos, they taste “of rich coconut with a sweet, nutty taste and have a crunchy texture you’ll love”. They can be eaten whole, although the peel is said to leave an unpleasant aftertaste on the tongue, a whole coquito can be eaten raw in one bite, but it can also be chopped and added to a variety of foods, including desserts, savoury foods, snacks, and drinks, I have had a quick look at some UK companies that sell nuts, but so far no coquitos, miniature coconuts, who would have thought it?