Central Plantation Crops Research Institute comes out with four more coconut-based value-added products

The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, Kerala, has come out with four more coconut-based value-added products.

The products — Kalpa kulfi, Kalpa wafer cones, Kalpa velvet (dark chocolate) and Kalpa Qbitz (nata de coco) — will be released during the 110th foundation day of the institute, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), at Kasaragod on Monday, according to director of the institute K. Balachandra Hebbar.

Kalpa kulfi

Kalpa kulfi, a coconut-based value-added product made by Central
Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kalpa kulfi is a non-dairy, coconut milk–based frozen delight on a stick, offering a rich and creamy mouth feel with a distinctive coconut flavour.

Formulated using coconut milk and coconut sugar, and flavoured with cardamom, it is a vegan product free from dairy ingredients. The inclusion of coconut milk makes the product rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fatty acids. “Kalpa kulfi presents a wholesome, plant-based alternative to conventional dairy kulfi while promoting the value addition of coconut-based ingredients,” Mr. Hebbar told The Hindu.

Kalpa wafer cones

Kalpa wafer cones, a coconut-based value added product made by Central
Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kalpa wafer cones are crispy and crunchy, nutrient-rich wafer cones developed using composite flour formulations based on sweet potato flour and enriched with coconut milk, coconut sugar, and coconut milk residue. The incorporation of coconut-based ingredients enhances the dietary fibre content and contributes essential vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting fatty acids. With a balanced proximate composition of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and crude fibre, the wafer cones offer a nutritionally superior alternative to conventional wafer cones and promote the sustainable utilisation of coconut by-products, the director said.

Kalpa Qbitz

Kalpa Qbitz, a coconut-based value-added product made by Central
Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, Kerala.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Kalpa Qbitz is an elite blend of fibre-rich cubic bits of ‘Nata de coco’ with the sweetness and nutriments of coconut neera. With the finest quality ingredients from coconut and spiced up with natural flavours, Kalpa Qbitz offers a unique feel of sweet and nutrient rich juicy gel bites. Qbitz, referring to ‘nata cube bits’ is produced from mature coconut water using elite bacterial strains identified at CPCRI, Mr. Hebbar said.

Kalpa-Velvet

Kalpa Velvet is a cocoa-coconut-cashew bean-to-bar dark chocolate delight. The cocoa-coconut cashew bean-to-bar dark chocolate is an innovative confectionery product developed in a collaboration mode between CPCRI and the Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur, Dakshina Kannada, with a focus on nutritional value and sustainability. The product showcases the use of coconut-derived ingredients, particularly coconut sugar and low-fat coconut flour (or coconut milk residue) combined with high-quality cocoa and cashew butter, delivering a unique, wholesome chocolate experience, the director said.

Some of the coconut-based value-added products released by the CPCRI earlier included Kalpa Bliz which was a flavoured ready-to-drink coconut beverage; sugar and jaggery from ‘neera’ (a sweet sap from coconut palm), coconut chips, virgin coconut oil and desiccated coconut.