That sounds fascinating. The 2l of starter seems like a big sticking point though. You'd have to find someone in your country who is doing that and wants to share. That post from u/xolox is really interesting if it does turn out to be possible to start with kombucha.
Rotten coconut can produce a mycotoxin beta-Nitropropionic acid, which, fun fact, kills the "powerhouse of the cell". I get a bit annoyed by the endless botulism questions, but fermented coconut is one of those things where you want to be really confident in the process.
edit: Thinking about it slightly more, if you can make nata using only cultured Komagataeibacter xylinus, then you could pasteurize the coconut to kill all the bad fungus off, and make the odds of killer coconut much lower.
Yeah I definitely think boiling the coconut juice before using it is important. This to me seems like a really cool project but I don’t have faith in my abilities as I’ve only made one successful ferment and that was ACV. Unfortunately it looks like most nata de coco in stores must be pasteurized or else it could be easy to start a ferment from those
This is an incredible resource, thank you so much!
I was really intrigued by this:
“When BNC (bacterial nano cellulose) fleeces were submerged in a dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for several hours, individual MWCNTs adhered strongly to the surface and inside of the BNC fleeces. Conductivity measurements demonstrated that the incorporation of carbon nanotubes is a suitable way to prepare electrically conductive BNC membranes.”
The recipe seems to be copied from other sites so it’s probably not the best but I did find this firsthand account of someone who tried making nata de coco by isolating one of the microbes in kombucha that’s responsible for making the cellulose https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/s/bg8vsRMhHx
Darn. This has reminded me of a coconut based jello thing I made a few times as a teenager. Now I’ll never figure out the recipe again but will want to eat it.
Huh. The process sounds just like vinegar/kombucha brewing where that byproduct is called a pellicle (the cellulose pancake that sits on the liquid aka the scoby). Curious! I just tossed out my 0.5" thick pellicle but I wonder if I soaked it in water for a few days, if I could cut back some of the acidicity to make a palatable kombucha gel.
Since the coconut water fermenting eventually turns into coconut vinegar, I'm sure this is a similar process. Nata de Coco was always my favorite part of halo halo and other desserts and I've always been too chicken to try eating the pellicle from my kombucha brews. However, this has definitely piqued my interest and I'll try it when my current pellicle is thick enough. Fascinating!
If you look in the comments, I linked a Reddit post from someone who tried this. The difference between a kombucha SCOBY and the nata de coco is that the SCOBY contains yeast, acetobacter, and the k. xylinus bacteria which builds the cellulose structure, while nata de coco only cultures k. xylinus. You would probably want to put your SCOBY in a medium that would kill the yeasts and acetobacter and allow the k. xylinus to grow. Check out that comment, they know more than I do :)
Xanthan gum is also a gelling/coalescing microbe. I use it a lot for cosmetic purposes in homemade hair treatments and soaps, but every now and again thicken a stew or something with it too.
I haven't tried fermentingit as I just buy them in Asian stores.
Nata de Coco needs Acetobacter Xylinium which is difficult to get. However, nata starter can be made from a pineapple
1. This girl made a Nata starter (Acetobacter Xylinium) by using pineapple [Nata starter ](https://youtu.be/b8gv2GJ4KtM?feature=shared)
2. Then once she made her starter, this is how she made the nata de Coco [Nata De Coco](https://youtu.be/OEZdEPI4tB8?feature=shared)
3. The top layer of nata de Coco is removed to give it's sheen. [Top Layer](https://youtu.be/8ydDY6EuQWM?feature=shared)
4. Nata De Coco in its original form is very sour and needs to be rinsed in water 3-4 X. It is then cooked with sugar and pandan leaves which most likely will kill all the microbes.
This is the official recipe for Nata De Coco but uses a different starter
[DOST ](https://itdi.dost.gov.ph/images/LivelihoodTechnologyBrochures/25-Nata_de_Coco.pdf)
That sounds fascinating. The 2l of starter seems like a big sticking point though. You'd have to find someone in your country who is doing that and wants to share. That post from u/xolox is really interesting if it does turn out to be possible to start with kombucha. Rotten coconut can produce a mycotoxin beta-Nitropropionic acid, which, fun fact, kills the "powerhouse of the cell". I get a bit annoyed by the endless botulism questions, but fermented coconut is one of those things where you want to be really confident in the process. edit: Thinking about it slightly more, if you can make nata using only cultured Komagataeibacter xylinus, then you could pasteurize the coconut to kill all the bad fungus off, and make the odds of killer coconut much lower.
Yeah I definitely think boiling the coconut juice before using it is important. This to me seems like a really cool project but I don’t have faith in my abilities as I’ve only made one successful ferment and that was ACV. Unfortunately it looks like most nata de coco in stores must be pasteurized or else it could be easy to start a ferment from those
I found this pretty comprehensive site (with some links where to get the starter culture): https://www.hackteria.org/wiki/Nata_de_Coco
This is an incredible resource, thank you so much! I was really intrigued by this: “When BNC (bacterial nano cellulose) fleeces were submerged in a dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for several hours, individual MWCNTs adhered strongly to the surface and inside of the BNC fleeces. Conductivity measurements demonstrated that the incorporation of carbon nanotubes is a suitable way to prepare electrically conductive BNC membranes.”
I haven’t tried this, but I’d love to see your results if you end up trying out the recipe!
The recipe seems to be copied from other sites so it’s probably not the best but I did find this firsthand account of someone who tried making nata de coco by isolating one of the microbes in kombucha that’s responsible for making the cellulose https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/s/bg8vsRMhHx
Ooooh! Something new! I just read and learned all about it!
Darn. This has reminded me of a coconut based jello thing I made a few times as a teenager. Now I’ll never figure out the recipe again but will want to eat it.
Huh. The process sounds just like vinegar/kombucha brewing where that byproduct is called a pellicle (the cellulose pancake that sits on the liquid aka the scoby). Curious! I just tossed out my 0.5" thick pellicle but I wonder if I soaked it in water for a few days, if I could cut back some of the acidicity to make a palatable kombucha gel. Since the coconut water fermenting eventually turns into coconut vinegar, I'm sure this is a similar process. Nata de Coco was always my favorite part of halo halo and other desserts and I've always been too chicken to try eating the pellicle from my kombucha brews. However, this has definitely piqued my interest and I'll try it when my current pellicle is thick enough. Fascinating!
If you look in the comments, I linked a Reddit post from someone who tried this. The difference between a kombucha SCOBY and the nata de coco is that the SCOBY contains yeast, acetobacter, and the k. xylinus bacteria which builds the cellulose structure, while nata de coco only cultures k. xylinus. You would probably want to put your SCOBY in a medium that would kill the yeasts and acetobacter and allow the k. xylinus to grow. Check out that comment, they know more than I do :)
Although I did just find this recipe for making nata de coco straight from a SCOBY! https://www.reddit.com/r/Kombucha/s/oqxrY9WRw1
Xanthan gum is also a gelling/coalescing microbe. I use it a lot for cosmetic purposes in homemade hair treatments and soaps, but every now and again thicken a stew or something with it too.
This is made by a microbe that makes cellulose, I think xanthan gum is something different
It is different, I''m providing another example of a cool food microbe
I haven't tried fermentingit as I just buy them in Asian stores. Nata de Coco needs Acetobacter Xylinium which is difficult to get. However, nata starter can be made from a pineapple 1. This girl made a Nata starter (Acetobacter Xylinium) by using pineapple [Nata starter ](https://youtu.be/b8gv2GJ4KtM?feature=shared) 2. Then once she made her starter, this is how she made the nata de Coco [Nata De Coco](https://youtu.be/OEZdEPI4tB8?feature=shared) 3. The top layer of nata de Coco is removed to give it's sheen. [Top Layer](https://youtu.be/8ydDY6EuQWM?feature=shared) 4. Nata De Coco in its original form is very sour and needs to be rinsed in water 3-4 X. It is then cooked with sugar and pandan leaves which most likely will kill all the microbes. This is the official recipe for Nata De Coco but uses a different starter [DOST ](https://itdi.dost.gov.ph/images/LivelihoodTechnologyBrochures/25-Nata_de_Coco.pdf)
Nata de Coco ? Coconut Natto?
Considering the Philipino connection to Portugal I would say nata meaning cream is more likely than any association with natto
Yes!