What is Coconut Sap, How to Collect and Uses

What is Coconut Sap

When we look at a coconut tree, truly, there are countless benefits of this tree for human survival, one of which is coconut sap.

The aqueous liquid obtained through a long and very dangerous process is carried out by those coconut palm farmers, although sometimes they have to sacrifice their lives.

The risk that can occur is falling while climbing coconut trees to take coconut sap. reported from page here, in Banyumas, one of the regencies in Indonesia, in 2016, the number of coconut palm sap farmers died 33 people, while injured 136 people, all of them due to falling from a coconut tree while taking sap.

Coconut sap, what is it and where did it come from

Coconut sap (Nira/Legen - Java) is coconut tree roomie, which is clear, brownish in color and is obtained by cutting bunches or coconut flowers that are not open yet, and has a very sweet taste.

How to harvest coconut sap

In the process of taking and collecting coconut sap, some equipment is needed as follows:

1. A knife or machete to cut the coconut flower.

2. Bamboo or jerry cans that have been perforated rather large, as a container to accommodate roomie

3. Tools for carrying bamboo when climbing coconut trees.

4. Rope, to tie bamboo

6. Water lime / mangosteen skin / pieces of jackfruit wood used as a preservative coconut sap.

After all the equipment is complete, the farmer will first put lime water which functions as a preservative for the sap into bamboo which is used as a storage for roomie.

Furthermore, coconut sap farmers will climb coconut trees, this process is carried out in the morning.

On top of the tree, farmers will do the pruning process at the tip of the coconut flower, the coconut flower has an outer skin which must be sliced ​​and removed first, before pruning the coconut flower.

Furthermore, the process of trimming coconut flowers, this process must be done very carefully, the wrong pruning will cause the sap will not come out or even not come out at all.

Pruning coconut flowers is trimmed with a distance of 10 cm from the tip of the flower, when the new coconut flower is pruned for the first time, it will not immediately produce sap, this pruning process must be repeated for 2 - 3 days in the morning and evening, and during that time the coconut flower must be trimmed with a distance of about 0.5 cm.

After the sap comes out smoothly, farmer will climb a coconut tree in the morning to prune coconut flowers and install bamboo as a container for the sap, and will climb the coconut tree again in the afternoon to take coconut sap and lowered for further processing.

Trimming coconut flowers to take roomie can be done until the base of the coconut flower runs out.

Uses of coconut sap.

Coconut juice is a brownish clear liquid that has a very sweet taste, because it can be drunk directly to simply eliminate thirst, but the sap from coconut trees has many other benefits if it has been further processed, including:

1. Coconut sugar

Coconut sugar is one of the processed products further from coconut juice, here in after known as coconut sugar, or brown sugar, because it has a reddish color that tends to be dark, coconut sugar is one of the ingredients of drinks and as a food flavoring, for dishes that do not use coconut sugar as a complement to seasoning, the taste of the cuisine will be less tasty.

Coconut sap is harvested and made of coconut sugar, is the largest percentage of the processing of coconut sap.

2. Sour vinegar from coconut sap

Vinegar is a food that is often consumed, and coconut sap can be made into vinegar, to make vinegar, it needs basic ingredients that have a sweet taste.

The making process of vinegar from coconut sap through a fermentation process, which will use a starter from bacteria.

3. Alcohol

Coconut sap can be served as a fresh drink that is very sweet, but its high sugar content in the sap, making bacteria very happy and very fast in the process of fermentation of the coconut sap, therefore, in the process of tapping, lime water is given to the bamboo where the sap is collected , so that roomie does not change because of the fermentation process that is very fast.

For the process of making alcohol from coconut sap, roomie after harvesting, if not given preservatives, within two hours it has been turned into aromatic alcohol with a 4% alcohol, still tastes sweet but can be intoxicating. Coconut palm sap fermentation that occurs longer, will result in higher alcohol, and makes the roomie change color to milky white and change its taste to become sour and sour.

In my country, drinking alcohol from the fermentation of coconut juice is called "Tuak". and this drink in several tribes, always served in celebrations and cultural activities.

Coconut sap, from the complexity of the process of collecting and harvesting from coconut trees, and the high level of risk for coconut palm juice farmers, the benefits and uses for human life are truly felt.

thanks for reading

Benefit of coconut sap

Coconut Flower

Indonesia is a tropical country, with the world's number two longest coastline, no wonder coconut trees are also very much found in this country.

Coconut has become a part of life that cannot be separated by the Indonesian people, almost every day, various foods cooked at home will definitely use coconut.

In the previous article, I made a posts about how to make coconut sugar, there I am review detailed step by step about how to make coconut sugar from the beginning to completion.

Coconut sugar in my place is referred to as “Gula jawa” Javanese sugar or brown sugar, although the appearance of the color tends to be brown, but the name is indeed the most popular.

Introduction to coconut sap

Coconut sugar is made with the basic ingredients of coconut sap, which is taken from the stem of coconut flowers that have not yet bloomed.

Besides being made into coconut sugar, coconut sap can also be directly consumed, or processed into other products.

Around coconut sap

Coconut sap is a clear liquid that comes out of a coconut flower whose buds have not opened, this liquid is the main material for making coconut sugar.

Coconut sugar is often called "Nira" or "legen" in Javanese. Terms derived from the word "legi" which means sweet. In other countries it might be called almost the same namely "Neera".

In a fresh state, coconut sap feels sweet, has a distinctive smell and colourless.

The process of extracting coconut sap is by cutting the base stem of the coconut flower, and the stem of the coconut flower that has been cut will then be put into pieces of bamboo or jerry cans, to collect coconut sap, this process is called tapping.

Tapping process is usually carried out in the morning and evening, because that's when coconut produces a lot of sap.

Why coconut sap is quickly fermented

Coconut sap has a very high content of nutrients or nutrients, potentially very popular and revives microbes in the form of fungi or bacteria around it.

During the tapping process, after the coconut sap drips and comes out of the flower bunches, the sap is directly related to free air.

Like other living things, microbes in the form of fungi will quickly multiply if their life needs are met, namely in the form of adequate food from coconut sap, Air / Oxygen (O2), the appropriate temperature, and the absence of inhibiting growth and development factors, the fungus will can remodel the sugar content of the fresh coconut sap into fermented juice by getting faster and causing the coconut sap to become increasingly sour or bitter or aromatic with alcohol.

I quote from a book written by Child and published in 1974, it can be concluded that coconut sap is a very nutritious food because it has a water content of 75 - 90%, total solids of 15 -19.7% which includes sucrose levels of 12.3 -17.4%, reducing sugar 0.5 -1%, protein 0.23 - 0.32% and ash 0.11 - 0.41%.

Another book reference is written by Gautara and Wijandi (1972) stating that fresh coconut sap contains sugar as much as 14-15%, 8-21% of which is sucrose.

Therefore Nira is very favored by all kinds of bacteria / microbes / microorganisms that cause damage and changes in the properties of the sap.

The speed of fermentation that occurs in coconut sap, will cause the quality of sap for this sugar to decrease, because some sugar is overhauled by enzymes produced from the fermentation process to acid and alcohol.

This process causes the coconut sap to become sour (sour) and slightly bitter. The longer this fermentation process occurs, the more acidic substances are formed, the more there is a change in sugar, which means less sugar.

Coconut sap contains several nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, fats and minerals. Sweet taste for sap due to its carbohydrate content reaching 11.28%.

This coconut sap is easily fermented because it contains wild yeast that is very active. If the Nira is cooked late, usually the colour of the sap changes to cloudy and yellowish brass, it feels sour, and it smells pungent.

This is due to a breakdown of sucrose into reducing sugars because of the presence of microorganisms in the coconut sap that undergoes fermentation.

Benefits of coconut sap consumed fresh.

So, at least there is 10 benefit if we want to consume coconut sap in fresh condition, here they are :

1. Overcoming constipation
The main trigger that causes a loss of a lot of fiber in food consumed daily. Fiber is needed by the body, herbal medicine has benefits to overcome constipation. Constipation can be resolved quickly and safely.

2. Reducing fever
This drink is very beneficial for adult children. Fever can occur due to a reduced immune system in the body. If you reduce a very high fever you can consume this drink because it can reduce high fever.

3. Maintaining bone health
This drink is beneficial for maintaining bone health. Bones really need vitamins to require density. Increasing age is getting higher. By drinking this drink not only for health, it also needs to support bone safety.

4. Launch breast milk
This drink is also very good to help in consumption by mothers who are consuming because the content contained in this drink that is very high is useful to prevent expenditure or oxidize nutrients that are needed to produce breast milk. If oxidation occurs, breast milk production in the mother will decrease so that the quality of breast milk will also decrease.

5. Refreshes the body
Efficacy of water sap that speaks well is that it can talk about the body. As agreed with the body's agreement, this drink is discussed once more about being drunk during the day. To add freshness, you can add ice cubes.

6. Fattening the body
If previously a lot has been sought by someone to carry out the body. But not for people who have less weight who usually look for ways to gain weight. Nira is a drink that also has the property of gaining weight or fattening the body.

7. Overcome abdominal pain
Usually the usual factors make stomach pain too late to eat, eat wrong or also because your stomach is too sensitive. Although this seems trivial, the pain that is felt cannot be ignored. To overcome this, coconut sap has benefits that are useful for treating stomach aches.

8. Warm the body
It's not just to refresh the body of the benefits of this coconut sap. You can also drink this to warm up your body temperature. In addition, if you get a virus, coconut sap can also fight viruses that have been infected in your body.

9. Prevent osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that has occurred due to increasing age where bones need more vitamins to maintain bone density. Therefore, you can drink this juice to prevent Osteoporosis in your bones.

10. Smooth the digestive system
The digestive organ is one of the organs that we must guard to prevent diseases such as intestinal inflammation and others. Coconut sap is a drink that has benefits and efficacy to facilitate the digestive system which can maintain good health in the body.

Processing of coconut sap

Besides being consumed in fresh condition, coconut sap can also be processed into other products, including:

1. Coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar is the most popular product for coconut sap, sugar is a beverage, mixture and seasoning, very multi-functional

2. Alcoholic drinks.
As discussed above, the sap is fermented very quickly, therefore there are also alcoholic drinks from this coconut sap, in my area, this alcoholic drink is called tuak, but, even though this drink is alcoholic, it is still useful for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, for I will discuss this in another paper.

3. Vinegar
This is a product that is now rarely produced, because it is difficult to compete with factory product vinegar. Although vinegar produced from coconut sap is more natural, but there is not much public interest in vinegar.

Conclusion

Coconut is a plant that has many benefits, and some even call this tree a tree of life, because indeed from the roots to the tips of the leaves all can be used to meet human needs, one of which is coconut sap, thanks for reading, hopefully useful.