Raw unsweetened shredded coconut in Chicago

October 18, 2019 7:31 AM

I'm trying to recreate a dessert that a friend used to eat when they lived in Cuba as a child called either dulce de coco or coco rallado, which requires raw unsweetened shredded coconut. I don't relish the idea of buying a coconut and shredding it, so where might I be able to find what I need in Chicago? It needs to be raw (because that's how they made it when they were there)--I can find dried shredded coconut anywhere.
posted by goatdog to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

My suggestion would be your local Whole Foods, which if it's like mine usually has peeled coconut meat in a box in the fresh cut-up fruit case. You can shred it in a blender or with a grater.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:46 AM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Try Devon, although it may be frozen. It's used in a number of southern Indian recipes. It'll be in the vegetable section of the freezer case; pretty sure I bought some at Patel Brothers.
posted by aramaic at 8:41 AM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

(oh, and it may be available in South Indian groceries elsewhere in the city, like that one over by Union Station, but Devon is going to be more of a sure thing)
posted by aramaic at 8:42 AM on October 18, 2019

I don't know about Chicago specifically, but most Indian markets carry raw, unsweetened, shredded coconut. Laxshmi Brand is somewhat prevalent around here in Ohio.
posted by slogger at 11:26 AM on October 18, 2019