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Learn more about "Copra"
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Copra
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. The name copra is derived from the Malayalam language|Malayalam word ''kopra'' for dried coconut.
Coconut oil is traditionally extracted by grating or grinding copra, then boiling it in water. It was developed as a commercial product by merchants in the The South Sea Company|South Seas and South Asia in the 1860s. Nowadays, the process of coconut oil extraction is done by crushing copra to produce coconut oil; the by-product is known as cake. This 19th century copra trading inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 novella ''The Beach of Falesá.''[''Treasured Islands: Cruising the South Seas With Robert Louis Stevenson.'' Lowell D. Holmes, (2001). Sheridan House. ISBN 1574091301.]
Making copra—removing the shell, breaking up, drying—is usually done where the coconut palms grow. Today, large plantations with integrated operations have appeared, but in former years copra was collected by traders going from island to island and port to port in the Pacific Ocean.
In India, Tiptur in Tumkur District (Karnataka state) is famous for its copra. It is a major export of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tuvalu, as well as several Caribbean countries.
Copra meal is used as fodder for horses and cattle. Its high oil levels and protein are fattening for stock.[Cocos nucifera from AFRIS - Animal feed Resources Information System] The unique benefits of copra meal for horses and cattle has been researched by Dr T.J. Kempton. The protein in copra meal has been heat treated and provides a source of high quality bypass protein for cattle, sheep and deer. [Livestock Library]
Production
Copra production begins with the coconut plantations. Coconut trees are generally spaced 9 meters apart, allowing a density of 100-160 coconut trees per ha. A standard tree bears around 50-80 nuts a year, and average earnings in Vanuatu (1999) were USD 0.20 per kg (one kg equals 8 nuts). [Lonely Planet:Vanuatu], allowing approximately ,600 USD to be earned yearly for each planted hectare.
References
External links
- Is Copra potentially a horse killer? - Horsetalk.co.nz
- Copra linked to cancer-causing agent
- Not all copra created equal
- copras
- Making Coconut Oil - The Old Chamorro Way
- Coconut and Copra
Category:Food ingredients
Category:Tamil words and phrases
Category:Coconut
Category:Energy crops
Related Images- Coconut and copra output in 2005.
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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