Processing and shelf-life studies of coconut water

Abstract

Coconut water was a highly nutritious beverage with low calorific value. Due to its high nutrition content and high chance of fermentation, the shelf life of coconut water was very less. So, it was usually discarded during the processing of coconut. In this project our objectives were to evaluate the physicochemical properties of coconut water, to optimise the process parameters for preservation of coconut water and to conduct shelf-life studies of treated and processed coconut water. Here we have initially studied about the nutrition content of fresh coconut water by estimating its carbohydrate content and protein content. Then the various physicochemical properties of fresh coconut water such as TSS, pH, titrable acidity, colour and acidity was estimated. 23 treatments were selected based on review of literature and preliminary experiments. The various unit operations like clarification, addition of preservatives, carbonation etc., were done for the development of treated coconut water. On analysing the physicochemical properties of treated coconut water it was understood that there was no significant difference among treated coconut water samples. The optimisation of processed variables for preservation of coconut water was done in terms of microbial analysis and sensory analysis. Out of the 23 treatments under study, 4 treatments (carbonated and non-carbonated samples of T12 and T13) were optimised. These samples were subjected to storage studies for a duration of 45 days under refrigerated condition (8℃). From the storage studies conducted all the samples were found to have a shelf life of one month under refrigerated condition (8℃).