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Fermentation Atlas

Other from Philippines

Nata de coconata de coco

Coconut water is boiled with sugar and a nitrogen source, soured with acetic acid and seeded with cellulose-making acetic acid bacteria. Left still in shallow trays for one to three weeks, it grows a thick white mat of bacterial cellulose that is cut into cubes, boiled and packed in syrup. Made in 5 steps over 8 days – 20 days. The longest step, leave still in shallow trays, takes 8–20 days (Thankappan G 2018) and runs at 27–30 °C (Mardesci H. 2018). Komagataeibacter species (formerly Acetobacter xylinum, Gluconacetobacter xylinus); strains from a nata production facility belonged to this genus and Komagataeibacter nataicola do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step8–20 daysReported[thankappan2018][mardesci2018]Leave still in shallow trays
Temperature27–30 °CReported[mardesci2018]Leave still in shallow trays
AciditypH 4.2Set[thankappan2018]Cool, sour and add the starter

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are one tray batch from a Kerala Agricultural University trial (1 litre of coconut water in a 23 × 13 cm tray).
1000 mlCoconut water[thankappan2018]
100 gSucrose · Without added sugar no nata formed in the trial[thankappan2018]
5 gAmmonium sulphate · Urea is another nitrogen source[thankappan2018][mardesci2018]
3 ml (or 25 ml bilimbi juice)Acetic acid · To bring the medium to pH 4.2[thankappan2018]
100 mlStarter culture of the cellulose-making bacterium[thankappan2018]
100 mlMother liquor from an earlier batch[thankappan2018]
Up to 65 °BrixSugar syrup, to pack the cubes[thankappan2018]
Starterdefined culture: a Komagataeibacter (Acetobacter xylinum) starter plus mother liquor from an earlier batch

Total time across the recorded steps: 8 days – 20 days

Start
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What changes: Coconut water is filtered and boiled with sugar and a nitrogen source

Step 1 of 5
Filter and boil coconut water with sugar and nitrogen
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Komagataeibacter
G. xylinus
K. nataicola

Sugar in the medium is the main factor that decides the yield of nata. Output: sterile sweet medium.

Flavour
sweet
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

boiling kills the wild microbes

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Nata de coco is valued for the mat the bacteria build, not for a change in the liquid. The same acetic acid bacteria make vinegar and kombucha, but here the medium is kept still and the cellulose layer is the food.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Nata de piñaMade on pineapple juice or peel; the older Filipino product that nata de coco replaced.
  • Nata from pre-fermented coconut waterCoconut water is first fermented by yeast for a day; this raised the cellulose yield of K. nataicola up to 14-fold in one study.

Safety

The medium is boiled before seeding and soured to pH 4.2, and the harvested cubes are boiled again before packing in heavy syrup.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Nata de coco is credited to the Filipino chemist Teódula Kalaw África, who in 1949 proposed coconut water as a year-round substitute for seasonal pineapple juice in making nata. The account rests on secondary sources.

  1. [thankappan2018] Thankappan G., Anitha P. 2018, Effect of sources of coconut water and acidulants on physico-chemical properties of nata-de-coco, Journal of Tropical Agriculture 56(2):206–209paper
  2. [mardesci2018] Mardesci H. 2018, Diversifikasi dan pengolahan produk olahan berbasis air kelapa, Jurnal Teknologi Pertanian (Universitas Islam Indragiri) 7(2)paper
  3. [ishiya2021] Ishiya K., Kosaka H., Inaoka T., Kimura K., Nakashima N. 2021, Comparative genome analysis of three Komagataeibacter strains used for practical production of nata-de-coco, Front Microbiol 12:798010, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.798010paper
  4. [fei2024] Fei S., Fu M., Kang J. et al. 2024, Enhancing bacterial cellulose production of Komagataeibacter nataicola through fermented coconut water by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Curr Res Food Sci 8:100761, doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100761paper
  5. [wp] Wikipedia, Nata de coco (history only)wiki