Abstract:
Scraped coconut is an inevitable ingredient in south Indian dishes like chutneys, puttu,
confectionaries, and sweet items. This is also used for the production of coconut milk, which is a
common ingredient in various food items and used for the preparation of virgin coconut oil and
other products. Due to the high perishability of these products, usually these are prepared
instantly. Scraping with mechanical scrapers/ traditional method is tedious and less comfortable.
The drudgery in the production of scraped coconut necessitated to explore the alternate
possibilities for the development of mechanical devices for the same.
The study also
investigated the suitable packaging method and storage temperature to enhance the shelf life of
the highly perishable scraped coconut.
Keeping this in mind, two models of coconut scrapers were developed and their
performance evaluation was conducted based on time of scraping, efficiency and cost analysis.
Analysis of shelf life of the product was also done using LDPE packaging film. Preliminary tests
were done for the standardisation of preservatives, selection of packaging material, packaging
method, and optimum storage conditions with respect to temperature. The quality of stored
products were analysed for colour, pH, a w , and total plate count. Sensory analysis of the scraped
coconut was also performed based on taste and odour.
The results revealed that the performance of the two newly developed machines (model 1
and model 2) was found to be more efficient than existing machineries. The performance of the
machine was better in terms of easiness of operation, time consumption and efficiency. The
storage life of fresh scraped coconut could be increased using suitable preservatives, temperature
and packaging methods. The shelf life of the product increased with decrease in temperature of
storage. Citric acid was found to be the best preservative among the tested preservatives. The
product could be stored for one to three days at room temperature. The samples could be stored
for 30 days in cold storage condition (15 o C). The shelf life was increased to 90 days at 3°C,
whereas at -20°C, the shelf life was increased to 180 days. However, thawing decreased the
quality of the product.
