Coconut sugar, which is not widely manufactured and hence not widely known, may get a boost if a chocolate made from it, to be available in the market from January, tickles the taste buds of consumers.
Since the Kasaragod-based Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) found a way to produce sugar from ‘neera’ (the sweet sap obtained from coconut palm) a year ago, some farmers’ cooperative societies and private manufactures in Kerala and Tamil Nadu have bought the technology and are producing the sugar, P. Chowdappa, director of CPCRI, told The Hindu .
Now, the city-based Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (CAMPCO), a multi-State cooperative society of farmers of Karnataka and Kerala, has made a new variety of chocolate, ‘Kalpa’, using the same sugar. The product will hit the markets on January 1.
“We are now manufacturing three tonnes of Kalpa dark chocolate with 50,000 bars. They will be dispatched to the markets of Karnataka and Kerala from December 21,” said M. Suresh Bhandary, managing director of CAMPCO.
He said that initially, CAMPCO will target the ‘A’ class outlets and medical shops to market the product. The product is priced at Rs. 100 for a 40 gram packet.
Commercial launch
Mr. Bhandary said the cooperative would procure the coconut sugar, which is also called palm sugar, from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will commercially launch the product at the Kisan Mela, which will be organised by CPCRI in Kasaragod on December 10.
Mr. Chowdappa told The Hindu that with worldwide demand for copra and coconut oil now on the decline, demand for coconut sugar, virgin coconut oil and tender coconut water would grow because of to their medicinal and nutritional values. “It can also be used to make sweets,” he said.
He said coconut sugar has a low glycemic index of around 35, almost half that of ordinary sugar. Blood glucose levels may not rise much with its consumption. Thus, the product is a better option for people with problems associated with diabetes, he said.
Mr. Bhandary said Kalpa does not have any artificial ingredients and CAMPCO has the CPRI certification on this. This means even the health conscious can eat it, he said.
