We at ORION ENGINEERING develop “tailor-made” solutions to completely transform an extremely widespread fruit with an increasingly growing market trend: the coconut. Today, we are pleased to explore with you the main stages of obtaining one of its derivative products: natural coconut water.
Coconut water, also called coconut juice (not to be confused with coconut milk), is a sweet refreshing drink taken directly from the inner part of coconut fruits. It differs from coconut milk, which is the oily white liquid extracted from the grated fresh kernel. The coconut water consumed as a beverage usually comes from immature coconut fruits.
Coconut water has traditionally been consumed as a refreshing beverage in most coconut countries. Growing consumer interest in the product both as refreshing beverage and as a sports drink has considerably broadened its market opportunities.
Coconut water within the nut is sterile. This means that it is free from microorganisms. Whenever exposed to the air, or to the external environment, the product is subject to microbiological contamination and deterioration.
Proper handling and temperature management throughout the postharvest and processing chain are essential to allowing coconut water to retain its inherent qualities prior to processing.
Proper sanitation management throughout the chain is also critical to assuring the quality, safety, and shelflife of the bottled product.
The coconut water is collected through a drilling extraction process with the water immediately entering a filtration system and then quickly transferred to material receiving storage tanks.
Next, the coconut water is pumped from the material storage tanks into cooling system at 40°C and then through an oil separator to extract the highest quality pure coconut-based water product. Once the purification process is complete, the coconut water is then piped to an insulated industrial storage tank.
The coconut water can be enriched with the best fresh fruit extracts to obtain a flavoured drink: for this purpose, the natural water is sent to a blending process just before being piped into insulated industrial storage tanks.
The final stages of coconut water production involve a cooling process at the temperature of 8°C – 100°C. in preparation for an integrated UHT pasteurization process. The water is then filled into an aseptic tank that supports an aseptic filling process performed under strict aseptic processing requirements.
Once the product has been filled into aseptic containers, there is an automated packaging process that is equipped with preset parameters and standardized, so that it will only operate when all safety conditions are complying. Another alternative to natural coconut water can be tender coconut water or concentrated water.
The tender coconut water is valued both for the refreshing drink and gelatinous kernel, which is a delicious food. The tender nut water is rich in potassium and minerals. Glucose content is maximum in 29 – 31 weeks months of maturation nuts and hence the best stage for drinking. The dwarf coconut variety, Chowghat Orange Dwarf (COD) is a tender nut variety. The tender coconut water concentrate was prepared using fresh coconut water collected under hygienic condition.
Suspended solids and oil in the samples were removed by means of three-way centrifuge. The removal of the solids and oil was necessary to minimize fouling of the membranes. The salts present in coconut water may be removed if desired, prior to concentration, to produce a very sweet product.
This is achievable by passing the centrifuged coconut water through a mixed-bed ion exchange resin. The concentrate can be frozen or preserved in cans and used as base to produce carbonated and non-carbonated coconut beverage.
The multidisciplinary technical staff of ORION ENGINEERING has been carrying out R&D for some time to maximize the type of products and by-products obtainable from coconut. At the same time, it pursues the objective of reducing the processing waste generated to minimize their impact on the environment. We will develop for you the best solution tailored to your objectives and needs.
