The Coconut Sap Sugar Process



coco sugar



• Coconut sap sugar is derived not from the nut but from the toddy/sweet sap (tuba)
• The unopened inflorescence is thinly sliced (~6mm)
• Sap oozing out from the inflorescence is collected
• The sap is boiled, and concentrated, to form granulated sugar.
• Coconut sap contains 12-18% sugar, essential vitamins and amino acids and macro and micronutrients.

Coconut Sap Sugar Profile:

• Glucose – 2.00
• Fructose – 2.90
• Sucrose – 85.68
• Reducing sugars – 7.51
• Total invert sugar (mixture of glucose and fructose) – 97.65

Process Flow:

1.     Collect toddy

2.     Strain, heat and stir continuously

3.     When thickens, cool

4.     Heat, stir, granulate

5.     Cool, stir

6.     Collect sugar and weigh

7.     Pack in bottles and plastic bags

Procedure:

1.     Boil coco sap to evaporate the water under moderate heat with occasional stirring until liquid thickens at 115° C.

2.     Remove it from the flame when it begins to become very sticky.

3.     Continue mixing until  it becomes granular.

4.     Air dry the brown sugar before placing them in a packaging material.

Glycemic Index (GI) of Coco Sap Sugar

• Based on Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) study on 2007, the GI of coconut sap sugar was 36, hence classified as Low GI food, which can be used as natural sweetener of diabetics
• The GI is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on the immediate effect on blood glucose levels.
• The higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response.
• A low GI food will cause a small rise in blood glucose level, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike.

SOURCE http://www.mixph.com/2010/08/coconut-sap-sugar-technology-and-processing.html

Philippine Coconut Authority

The Coconut Sap Sugar

COCO TUBA

The sap is boiled to get rid of its water component. This is usually done under moderate heat with constant stirring. Once the liquid thickens at 115°C, the thickened sap is removed from the heat under continuous stirring. The thick liquid will then finally break down into granular form, and there is your coconut sugar. It is important to air-dry the sugar before packing it for the market.

Healthy

Since the sugar is natural and organic, it is a healthy source of sweetening. Although it sells at about P100/kilo, it is bound to change, following law of supply and demand, that a large supply of coconut toddy would definitely help decrease the price.

A profitability analysis of the technology has been promising. Using enterprise budgeting, a farmer can earn almost P600,000 net income in a year using coconut sap from 100 coconut trees.

It was seen during the profitability analysis that even if the price of the sugar is decreased by 10 to 20%, the farmers would still earn a profit. Further reduction of prices will decrease their profit by certain percentage, though.

But the analysis showed that if it is the coconut toddy supply that is reduced by 16%, the profit of the farmers will drop by 50%. If toddy supply further drops by 33%, the farmers will not have profit at all.

The profitability and sensitivity analysis of the coco-sugar enterprise showed both a promise and an opportunity. While a healthy sweetening can now be made available to sweet-tooths everywhere, the sensitivity of the economic viability of coco-sugar to market forces have opened opportunities for coconut farmers to increase their income by tapping their trees for that all-important toddy.

source: http://www.bar.gov.ph/

http://www.mixph.com/2007/09/how-to-extract-sugar-from-tuba-coco-sap.html