Development and performance evaluation of coconut scraper

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.