How to Make Nata de Coco from Coconut Milk

Another way of making Nata de Coco is by using coconut milk instead of its water. The same procedure in making Nata de Coco can be applied.

Nata de Coco Using Coconut Milk
Materials:

1 kilo Grated coconut
600 gms. Refined sugar
325 c Glacial acetic acid (available in drugstores)
1/2 liter Coconut water
12 liters Ordinary water
2 liters Nata starter (available at ITDI)

Procedure:

1. Extract the cream from the coconut, strain through a cheesecloth.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Transfer to big mouthed clean jars and allow around 2-3 inches in height of the liquid.
4. Cover with a clean cheesecloth. The culture is allowed to grow at room temperature for 15 days or more. Note: Do not move the jars during growth period.
5. Harvest is ready after 15 days or more, making sure that all conditions are aseptic so as to enable one to reuse the remaining liquid which serves as starter for succeeding preparations.
6. For Dessert Making: The “nata” is cut into cubes and is subjected to a series of boiling with fresh water until acidity is totally removed. One kilo of refined sugar is added for every kilo of nata and are mixed. It is brought to boiling until the “nata” cubes become transparent.

Making of Raw Nata

1. Grate 2-3 coconut heads.
2. Add 1 L of water and squeeze the coconut meat.
3. Filter to remove the residue.
4. Add 1 L of water to the coconut meat and extract the milk again.
5. Combine the first and the second extracts and add to 26 L of water
6. Add the sugar, acetic acid and the mother liquor.
7. Mix well to dissolve the sugar and other ingredients.
8. Fill into containers of about 2-3 cm.. thick.
9. Cover with paper and tighten with the rubber band.
10. Place in a room where temperature is 28-32^oC.
11. Leave the mixture undisturbed for 8-10 days.
12. Harvest nata when it is about 1-1.5 cm thick. The yield of one formulation is 20-25 kilos raw nata.

Preservation:

1. Remove the film of the nata at the bottom. .
2. Cut into 1.2 to 1.5 cm cubes.
3. Remove the acid taste by inserting a hose at the bottom of the container.
4. Heat the nata to boiling for about 10 min.
5. Drain and add 3/4 kg. sugar for every 1 kilo of raw nata. Allow to soak overnight.
6. Add pandan leaves and cook over a slow fire for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Fill into sterilized containers and add hot syrup.
8. Process in boiling water for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
9. cool in air.
10. Wipe dry and store.

For sweetened nata in plastic packages, fill the cooked nata immediately in polyethylene packages and seal. Cool in running water and store in the refrigerator.

Nata processed in bottles or cans would last for 6 months to 2 years. For plastic packages, it would normally last for a month at normal refrigeration temperature, and longer if placed in the freezer.

How to Make the Nata de Coco Nata Starter or ‘Mother Liquour’
To produce nata de coco ‘mother liquor’, it has to be obtained from a previous culture. Nata starter or mother liquor is available at Bureau of Plant Industry, ITDI or any nata de coco producers.

Revive the starter every 4 days to make the organism active and free from contamination.
To prepare the nata starter or mother liquor, set aside 6 liters of newly prepared mixture from 1 to 9 and incubate for 4 days.

Dispense the mixtures of processes 1-9 in the preparation of raw nata, in wide mouth glass container and incubate at the same temperature (28-32 C) for 4 days. The starter made could be used in the mass production of raw nata de coco. A good growth of the film can be seen after 2-3 days for actively growing culture.

Source: Technology developed by: ITDI (DOST)