Raw Coconut Water Vinegar Recipes
Organic Raw Coconut Water Vinegar
The water inside the coconut shell is packed with nutrients that nourishes the nut as it prepares to germinate and start growing into a new coconut tree, which is exactly what would happen if you let a coconut fall from the tree to the ground and leave it there, given the proper moisture and soil conditions. Coconut water is high in many vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. Because it contains electrolytes, it is considered one of the best natural rehydrating drinks in the tropics. Pasteurized coconut water retains most of the minerals, and is frequently sold as a sports drink. Since fresh coconut water deteriorates so quickly once it is exposed to air, it is best obtained and consumed in the tropics where it can be purchased fresh, with all the nutrients and enzymes in tact. Packaged coconut waters must be pasteurized, destroying some of the nutrients. It has been reported that during World War II coconut water was used in emergencies as IV fluids, since the nutrient-packed water is completely sterile inside the coconut until the hard shell is cracked and it is exposed to air.
In the Philippines and other tropical places, raw coconut water is often left in the open air to ferment, where it eventually turns into a vinegar. The fermentation process enhances the nutrients, unlike heat pasteurization. The acidic environment prevents the growth of undesirable bacteria naturally. Tropical Traditions worked with professors at the University of the Philippines for several years to develop an incubation system that could produce clean coconut water vinegar from our certified organic coconuts (used to make our Virgin Coconut Oil) and retain the mother of vinegar (a colony of bacteria cultures) as a truly raw product. We use the mother of vinegar to inoculate future batches of organic coconut water vinegar.
Organic Whole Muscabado Sugar
We use only certified organic Muscabado whole cane sugar in the fermentation of our vinegar, grown by a cooperative of small scale family farmers in the Philippines. The sugar is also Fair Trade certified. Muscabado sugar is a whole sugar that is extracted from the sugar cane using traditional methods. It contains all the natural nutrients found in raw sugar cane or molasses. Sugar is needed in the fermentation process, and most other vinegars are made with refined white sugar. Our Muscabado whole cane sugar is a deep brown in color, which gives a brown coloring to our vinegar. While the sugar is needed in the fermentation process, it is used up during fermentation and there is no sugar content left in the vinegar.
A Truly Unique Vinegar!
Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Water Vinegar is truly unique and is the first of its kind in the US market! Most vinegars are clear because they are distilled and originally made from white sugar. Our Organic Coconut Water Vinegar is not distilled, but raw. It contains the mother of vinegar. In the Philippines most all commercial vinegars are distilled, and the “coconut vinegars” are not made from the nutrient-packed coconut water from inside the coconut, but from the sap of the coconut tree which is used to make lambanog, an alcoholic drink similar to vodka. These “coconut vinegars” are by-products of the lambanog industry. To make these products, one must harvest the sap of the coconut tree from the coconut flower bud, which would normally become a fruit-bearing coconut. Hence, trees dedicated to harvesting the sap for lambanog and the more common coconut vinegar will never produce coconuts. Tropical Traditions does NOT support coconut products that prevent coconut trees from bearing fruit (this would include “coconut sugar” harvested from the flowering bud of the coconut tree.) Coconut trees in the Philippines have been on the decline for decades, and the coconut oil from coconuts is also now valued as a fuel source in bio-diesel production, resulting in less coconut oil availability as a food source each year. Vinegar made from coconut water, however, does not sacrifice coconuts or coconut oil in its production, as it is collected from mature coconuts which are used to make coconut oil, and the same trees can continue producing coconuts year after year.
Tropical Traditions is the first company to make a truly organic product from the water of organic coconuts which is raw and fermented with fair-trade organic Muscabado whole cane sugar. This is one of the most nutrient-packed and healthiest vinegars you will find anywhere in the world!
For a cool and refreshing healthy beverage, mix one to two teaspoons of Organic Coconut Water Vinegar to 8 oz. of water.
Recipes using Coconut Water Vinegar
