Copra (Kopra)

Specifications

Copra is the dried flesh of coconuts. Each mature coconut palm tree bears from 50 to 75 nuts that can be picked, split open with machetes and left in the sun to dry. The copra is then dug out of the shells and further dried on racks. It then is packed in burlap sacks for transport to a processing plant.

At the plant, the dried coconut flesh is pressed through rollers to extract the coconut oil it contains. The dried remainder is called coconut cake or oil cake. Oil cake is high in fiber and protein, and is considered a high-quality livestock feed. Coconut oil also is extracted by using hexane, a crude oil by-product.

The oil is refined and used for cooking and in margarines. It also is used for detergents, shampoos and soaps. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which protects oils from turning rancid. Baked goods made with coconut oil have extended shelf lives compared to goods made with other fats.

The copra industry began in the 1860s when European businesses were looking for edible oils to address a shortage of dairy fats in Europe. They found their oil source in the coconut palm trees of the Pacific Islands. Pacific Islanders had been caring for the trees and harvesting the nuts as a cottage industry.

Copra is the dried flesh of coconuts. Each mature coconut palm tree bears from 50 to 75 nuts that can be picked, split open with machetes and left in the sun to dry. The copra is then dug out of the shells and further dried on racks. It then is packed in burlap sacks for transport to a processing plant.

At the plant, the dried coconut flesh is pressed through rollers to extract the coconut oil it contains. The dried remainder is called coconut cake or oil cake. Oil cake is high in fiber and protein, and is considered a high-quality livestock feed. Coconut oil also is extracted by using hexane, a crude oil by-product.

The oil is refined and used for cooking and in margarines. It also is used for detergents, shampoos and soaps. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which protects oils from turning rancid. Baked goods made with coconut oil have extended shelf lives compared to goods made with other fats.

The copra industry began in the 1860s when European businesses were looking for edible oils to address a shortage of dairy fats in Europe. They found their oil source in the coconut palm trees of the Pacific Islands. Pacific Islanders had been caring for the trees and harvesting the nuts as a cottage industry.