coconut <flesh><meat>

[jokaec]

Coconut milk comes from coconut "flesh" or "meat".

Are they both correct? If so, which is better in colloquial English? Thank you!

 

[Keith Bradford]

Both are correct and in Britain they are used equally. In America, however, "coconut meat" is ten times more likely.

 

[lingobingo]

Coconut meat sounds totally weird to me. But that’s probably because (according to Oxford), it’s a North American usage.



cross-posted

 

[Einstein]

I agree with lingobingo; as a BrE speaker I don't think I've ever heard "meat" applied to the fleshy part of a fruit/vegetable.

 

[RM1(SS)]

How about nutmeats?

 

[Keith Bradford]

How about nutmeats?

Qué? Never heard of it/them.

 

[RM1(SS)]

Ah. Checking the WRF dictionaries, I see that Collins doesn't include nutmeat.

Random House Learner's:

nut•meat /ˈnʌtˌmit/ n. [countable]

1. Plant Biology, Food: the kernel of a nut, usually one that can be eaten.

 

[jokaec]

Thank you all, especially Keith!

 

[jokaec]

Both are correct and in Britain they are used equally. In America, however, "coconut meat" is ten times more likely.

Thank you Keith. I guess "watermelon meat" is also much more common than "watermelon flesh" in AmE. Am I right?

 

[LVRBC]

I have never heard anyone say watermelon meat in Am-E.

 

[jokaec]

I have never heard anyone say watermelon meat in Am-E.

Thank you LVRBC. In this case, is “watermelon flesh” most common in AmE?

 

[Barque]

I'd imagine "flesh" is the term used in all varieties of English to refer to the edible portion of a watermelon. It sounds very odd to me to hear "meat" used to refer to the inside of a fruit, though I suppose it could work with coconuts.

 

[LVRBC]

Usually people speak in a way that avoids referring to watermelon as flesh (or meat!). They just say watermelon. If you give me a sentence about watermelon, I will do my best to put it in idiomatic Am-E.

 

[natkretep]

I've never heard of coconut meat let alone watermelon meat! I might say the fleshy bit of the watermelon if I wanted to contrast it to the rind.

 

[jokaec]

Usually people speak in a way that avoids referring to watermelon as flesh (or meat!). They just say watermelon. If you give me a sentence about watermelon, I will do my best to put it in idiomatic Am-E.

Thank you all!
If I see a kid who ate a slice of watermelon and left a lot of flesh part, can I say "please eat clear, there is still a lot of "flesh" or "meat" left". Which is more appropriate?

 

[lingobingo]

No one would use either of those words in casual conversation. They’d probably just say “Don’t waste any of it”.

 

[PaulQ]

In earlier English (say pre 1800), flesh and meat were both also used to mean "food unrelated to meat". They were used for "the edible part" of anything that was naturally edible.

We still use "flesh" in this context occasionally: "The flesh of the apple was rather dry." However, I would advise a student against using either.

 

[Myridon]

If I see a kid who ate a slice of watermelon and left a lot of flesh part, can I say "please eat clear, there is still a lot of "flesh" or "meat" left". Which is more appropriate?

There is still a lot of watermelon on the rind.
("Please eat clear." makes no sense.)

 

[jokaec]

There is still a lot of watermelon on the rind.
("Please eat clear." makes no sense.)

Thank you all. Most likely I will use "Please eat it all. There is still a lot watermelon on the rind."

 

[RM1(SS)]

a lot of watermelon

I've never heard of coconut meat let alone watermelon meat! I might say the fleshy bit of the watermelon if I wanted to contrast it to the rind.

I would call it "watermelon pulp".

 

[jokaec]

I would call it "watermelon pulp".

Thank you.

 

[Edinburgher]

I would call it "watermelon pulp".

That would be correct according to what the dictionaries say, but for me personally the word carries a strong association with having been crushed, mashed, or beaten, and so I would avoid using the term to describe stuff that is still firm.

 

[natkretep]

That would be correct according to what the dictionaries say, but for me personally the word carries a strong association with having been crushed, mashed, or beaten, and so I would avoid using the term to describe stuff that is still firm.

Same here. The first definition in Oxford is

A soft, wet, shapeless mass of material.
‘boiling with soda will reduce your peas to pulp’

pulp | Definition of pulp in English by Lexico Dictionaries