Kochi: There is some good news for the lovers of vegan food: you can have curd, yogurt and lassi made of coconut milk.
Thomas George, farmer of Chemperi, Kannur, has improved upon the received wisdom of the local population and come out with a process to make value-added products out of coconut milk that are beneficial to health.
“I have seen the elderly people of Kannur district making butter milk made of coconut milk using lemon,” said Mr George, who made a presentation of his products before the officials and scientists of the Coconut Development Board in Kochi recently.
“I started working on improving the process and products,” said Mr George. After trying various options, he came out with a process in which the coconut milk is fermented by yeast and honey mixed with lauric acid as the catalyst.
Mr George got the product tested by the Central Food Technological Institute, Mysore. He has also tied up with the Ayurveda Medical College, Parassinikkadavu, to study the health benefits of the products.
Coconut milk-based products are available in the US market where it has a lot of takers, CDB chairman T. K. Jose said. “Mr George’s products need more study, innovation and refining, but this indeed is a good beginning,” he said.
“There is big market for curd, yogurt, ice-cream and flavoured milk made of coconut milk and we need companies to use the potential.”
