Global demand of coconut food products including coconut
water is increase in the last five years. Yet coconut as a plant and commodity is still less
understood by its consumer. There is common misunderstanding on this tree of life especially by western community.
1. Coconut water is different with coconut milk
Too often we see pictures of girl, man or
boy hold green colored coconut with straw slip between their lips, drinking from
the young coconut. Nevertheless the caption as equally misquoted, that they
drink coconut milk instead of coconut water. In fact coconut water is not
coconut milk. The water is coming out fresh from this round shape nut in clear
color while coconut milk is whitish milk alike liquid comes out from pressing
the endosperm, meat of coconut. So it is two totally different things.
2. Coconut milk is not coming out from coconut
Again as often these pictures lead wrong
interpretation and perhaps that is why many think coconut water is coconut
milk. There is no such milk alike liquid coming out from fresh brown colored
mature coconut. Coconut milk contain
high 24% fat and 68% water while coconut water contains 95% water and only
under 1% fat. Coconut milk has provide 230 calories than coconut water only 19
calories. Both then has different nutritional values then serving way.
3. Coconut oil is a cholesterol free cooking oil
Contrary to what most of the information on
coconut oil it is cholesterol free. It is true that coconut oil is saturated
fat similar to those in meat or animal fat but the oil is a middle chain
saturated fat which is easily digested or diluted within the body. Animal fat
on the contrary has long chain saturated fat. Therefore coconut oil is not
causing fat accumulation, arthrosclerosis, hypertension or heart disease.
4. No deforestation from coconut plantation
Coconut is grow best in the coastal area
and it barely need fertilizer, interestingly salt is its natural fertilizer.
Coconut can live and still productive until 100 years and most of the current trees
were planted in 70s and 80s. This means that there is no deforestation involve
in the production of coconut. Notion from environmental activists that
coconut related to deforestation in Indonesia, again this is a misunderstanding
against coconut. It is true that the country has a high deforestation rate due
to oil palm development but the growing area coconut with those of oil palm are
different. The accusation therefore a misaddressed.
5. Coconut farmers live a very modest living
Coconut craze especially the water which is
happen in the last 8 years quoted start from almost zero in 2006 to worth USD1
billion in 2015 increase the interest business on coconut. Big beverage
companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi invest in this rapidly expanding market.
Coconut water which was a waste from a desiccated or coconut oil industries is
now collected to its last drop. Nevertheless less been known that the coconut
farmers live in a modest life.
