596 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



THE MANUFACTURE OF EDIBLE COCO-NUT 

 BUTTER. 



According to the United States Consul at 

 Carlsbad (Austria), says the Indian Trade 

 Journal, most of the coco-nut butter manu- 

 factured in Bohemia is made of Cochin China or 

 Indian copra, which is received in large wooden 

 tuns. The dried copra is sliced, and the fat is 

 extracted by oil presses, quite a simple process. 

 This raw oil contains soap fats and does not 

 have a pleasant odour. It is placed in large 

 tanks and the first step in the refining process 

 is the addition of powdered chalk, which 

 absorbs the soap fats and settles to the bottom 

 of the tank. The oil on the surface is pumped 

 into another tank, passing through four or five 

 filters as the second step in the refining process. 

 It is then forced into a tank heated by steam 

 pipes to about 270 C. (518 F.). This process 

 continues until the oil is as clear as crystal and 

 begins to bubble. It is then pumped into an 

 automatic weighing apparatus and run into 

 the moulds, where it is allowed to cool. The 

 tablets or cubes are removed to the packing 

 table. Part of the oil is run into various sized 

 tubes and is also placed on the market in 

 this form. The soap fats, combined with the 

 chalk, are treated with sulphuric acid, which 

 dissolves the chalk, leaving the fats floating on 

 the surface of the solution. These are drawn 

 off into tubes and are sold to manufacturers of 

 soap. The trimmings of the copra slices are 



