My sister Theresa introduced us to one of the most tasty little treats I’ve ever had: coconut gel! It is just wonderful! In fact, it is almost addictive. We love it in fruit salads and the liquid is a great addition to fruit smoothies! The amazing part is that I really don’t like coconut! But I have to admit, it’s growing on me. And as soon as the boys move out, I’ll have a whole jar all to myself… :o)
I have always wondered what coconut gel is??? But the ingredient list on the jar says, “coconut gel”. Not helpful… So I did what I always do when I want to learn something new. I Googled it. Here’s what I learned from Wikipedia:
“Nata de coco is a chewy, translucent, jelly-like food product produced by the fermentation of coconut water, which gels through the production of microbial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinus. Nata de coco is most commonly sweetened as a candy or dessert, and can accompany many things including pickles, drinks, ice cream, puddings and fruit mixes. The product originates from the Philippines.
The primarily coconut water dessert is produced through a series of steps from:
- Extraction of coconut water
- Fermentation of the coconut water with bacterial cultures
- Separating and cutting the produced mat of nata de coco
- Cleaning and washing the acetic acid out of the nata de coco
- Cutting to packaging
Commercial nata de coco is made by small farms in the Philippines.”
Nata de Coco is also excellent as a pain relief product, it can be kept in the fridge as it should be and used for minor burns, minor lacerations on sensitive areas (eg. paper cuts or torn skin after hard anal) but should not be used around the eye area due to any residual acetic acid.
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