Effect of different pre-treatments of fresh coconut kernels on some of the quality attributes of the coconut milk extracted

Fresh, dehusked and shelled coconut kernels were subjected to blanching and freezing treatments and were tested for chemical and enzymatic deterioration and yield of milk by monitoring the percentage extraction of coconut milk, free fatty acid (FFA) content, peroxide value (PV), lipase (LIP) and peroxidase (POD) activities, once each fortnight for a total period of 8 weeks. The percentage extraction of milk varied between 31.0% and 33.5% in the blanched samples and did not show a significant change at p > 0.05, as compared to the values at week 0. Similar observations were seen in FFA content and the PV. The LIP activity in these samples decreased to almost 0.176% liberated FFA and POD activity to 0.387 Absorbance Units/g fresh-weight. In conclusion, the results indicated the efficiency of the pre-treatment in suppressing the chemical and enzymatic deterioration of coconut kernels, which normally results in the loss of quality of the coconut milk when extracted.