7.6 Adverse Effects and Individual Concerns
Coconut can be a food allergen, and in India, it comes in the top five food allergens
(Teuber and Peterson 1999).
7.7 Food Applications
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) milk is being used by confectionaries, bakeries, biscuits,
and ice cream industries worldwide to enhance the flavor and taste of various
products (Persley 1992). Coconut juice was found to be rich in calcium (800 mg),
while the protein and fat contents were 50 and 65 g, respectively. The energy content
was 61.0 kcal and the total available carbohydrate was 300 g. The milk was reported
to be high in minerals and vitamin content (Nieuwentus and Nieuwelink 2002),
while total saturated fat was 10% of the total energy (Thai Food Composition 2004).
Percentage energy distribution from protein, total fat, and carbohydrate were
10:30:60.
The potential of coconut milk to treat the protein and calorie malnutrition in
Africa, Belewu and Belewu (2007) evaluated the potential of tiger nut, coconut and
soybean in inclusion to the confectionery products. They extracted milk from all
three sources and evaluated them for chemical composition. They observed that
coconut milk has 7.87% crude protein, 24.10% fat, 9.40% calcium, and 2.14%
phosphorous present. The total energy was 332.20 kcal per 100 g coconut milk.
Coconut milk was found to be rich in lauric and capric acid. The chemical composition of coconut milk revealed that it is a calorie-dense milk alternate containing a
good amount of dietary crude protein, fat, and minerals like calcium and phosphorous, and it can be included in human diet as well as livestock diets.
Out of the total applications of coconut oil, 61% is used in food applications
(Gunstone and Harwood 2007), while the major portion from the remaining 39% is
in the oleochemical industry. The coconut oil is largely used in frying, production of
margarine, filled milk, frozen desserts, etc.
7.7.1 Frying
In tropical countries especially in India and the Philippines, the most common use of
coconut oil is frying as it is a local product and has a local preference too (Rossel
2001). It is mainly suitable for shallow frying domestically. Furthermore, it is
unsuitable for industrial frying since it is rich in lauric acid and other fatty acids
with less than 14 carbon atoms. The reason for its unsuitability for industrial frying is
the liberation of free fatty acids upon hydrolysis of glycerol esters while used for
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181
Coconut can be a food allergen, and in India, it comes in the top five food allergens
(Teuber and Peterson 1999).
7.7 Food Applications
Coconut (Cocos nucifera) milk is being used by confectionaries, bakeries, biscuits,
and ice cream industries worldwide to enhance the flavor and taste of various
products (Persley 1992). Coconut juice was found to be rich in calcium (800 mg),
while the protein and fat contents were 50 and 65 g, respectively. The energy content
was 61.0 kcal and the total available carbohydrate was 300 g. The milk was reported
to be high in minerals and vitamin content (Nieuwentus and Nieuwelink 2002),
while total saturated fat was 10% of the total energy (Thai Food Composition 2004).
Percentage energy distribution from protein, total fat, and carbohydrate were
10:30:60.
The potential of coconut milk to treat the protein and calorie malnutrition in
Africa, Belewu and Belewu (2007) evaluated the potential of tiger nut, coconut and
soybean in inclusion to the confectionery products. They extracted milk from all
three sources and evaluated them for chemical composition. They observed that
coconut milk has 7.87% crude protein, 24.10% fat, 9.40% calcium, and 2.14%
phosphorous present. The total energy was 332.20 kcal per 100 g coconut milk.
Coconut milk was found to be rich in lauric and capric acid. The chemical composition of coconut milk revealed that it is a calorie-dense milk alternate containing a
good amount of dietary crude protein, fat, and minerals like calcium and phosphorous, and it can be included in human diet as well as livestock diets.
Out of the total applications of coconut oil, 61% is used in food applications
(Gunstone and Harwood 2007), while the major portion from the remaining 39% is
in the oleochemical industry. The coconut oil is largely used in frying, production of
margarine, filled milk, frozen desserts, etc.
7.7.1 Frying
In tropical countries especially in India and the Philippines, the most common use of
coconut oil is frying as it is a local product and has a local preference too (Rossel
2001). It is mainly suitable for shallow frying domestically. Furthermore, it is
unsuitable for industrial frying since it is rich in lauric acid and other fatty acids
with less than 14 carbon atoms. The reason for its unsuitability for industrial frying is
the liberation of free fatty acids upon hydrolysis of glycerol esters while used for
7 Coconut (Cocos nucifera)
181