Traditional and Modern Production Methods of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO): A Guide
Thanks to its versatility, virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been highly sought after as one of the most popular coconut products from Indonesia and other coconut-producing countries. VCO is in high demand because of its versatility, and it has become increasingly popular over the years because of its health benefits. Today, people use both traditional and modern production methods to create VCO for their customers’ demands.
Methods of Production of VCO
As the demand for coconut products from Indonesia continues to increase each year, both traditional and modern production methods of VCO continue to be used.
Both methods are still highly viable, especially when there are people who value products that are traditionally made instead of the ones produced commercially in factories.
Traditional
- Once the coconut is cut, grate the coconut manually.
- After grating the coconut, wring the grated coconut continuously until every single liquid content, such as oil or coconut milk, has been fully squeezed.
- Regularly add a proportional amount of water when squeezing the coconut.
- Once squeezed, put the squeezed water content into a container to separate the coconut milk and the water.
- After exposing the container to sunlight for 3 hours, collect the coconut milk and add vinegar with 2,5 ml for every single liter of coconut milk.
- Proceed to stir the coconut milk and vinegar, and expose the mixed solution for 3 to 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, collect the coconut oil from the bottom of the container, and filter the oil.
Modern
- Use manual methods or machines to grate the coconuts in a large number.
- After grating, dry the coconut flesh using a tray dryer before squeezing the flesh.
- Drain any water content from the coconut using a vibratory screener after the squeezing process so that the collection of the crude coconut oil will be easier later on.
- After having only 10 to 12% of moisture content, extract the oil from the flesh using a manual or a machine press.
- After the crude oil is collected, use methods such as centrifugation and decantation to process and refine the crude coconut oil.
- Once both methods are performed, the newly refined VCO is ready for packaging consumption.
Conclusion
To ensure that the demands from customers around the world for coconut products from Indonesia are fulfilled, PT. Kelapa Asli Indonesia is now available to answer the market demands. Contact us for more information about our coconut products!