Vincent machines do not have anything to do with producing coconut cooking oil this way. None of our presses will squeeze tight enough. However, there is a coconut product, Coco Lopez, better known as cream of coconut, which is produced with Vincent screw presses.

The closest we come to coconut oil is Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). This is an important “cold process” product made by a few processors. Centrifuges are used to separate the VCO from the cream of coconut which they produce with Vincent presses.

Coco Lopez was started with a government grant to the University of Puerto Rico. The project was funded in an effort to develop a new industry for the island commonwealth. The project was headed by a staff member (or student) by the name of Lopez, and in 1970 a Vincent VP-6 press was purchased and shipped to the University. Vincent’s Tampa sales representative, Art Lund, was instrumental in the project.

The creamy white juice extracted from the coconut meat is referred to as coconut cream or milk. It is screened and homogenized. Sometimes it is centrifuged and/or concentrated in an evaporator. Sometimes with the addition of sugar, cream of coconut or cococream is produced.

The most popular brand, Coco Lopez, is used as a cooking ingredient for a variety of main dishes and desserts; it is found on the shelves of most supermarkets. Also, piña colada mix is a very popular product.

His project was so successful that Lopez left the University and commercialized the product. He set up the industry in the nearby Dominican Republic because the labor was cheaper and both coconuts and sugar cane were plentiful. Today there are half a dozen firms producing cream of coconut on the island. Ironically, the largest of these import their sugar from Guatemala because of lower cost and higher quality.

The production process is well established. Cococream is produced from fresh shredded coconut meat. The coconuts are harvested, shucked, and shelled. The clear water in the coconut, especially from mature coconuts, used to be discarded. However, a strong market has been developed for this natural drink, sold in bulk or in Tetrapaks.

In the Americas the shell is removed from the meat with a machete, or the meat is removed, following blanching, with a spoon. In Asia the coconuts are shelled with a snag-tooth ripper.

Sometimes the brown peel is shaved from the meat. Either way, the meat is shredded or grated to a size similar to that of the flakes which are spread on cookies and cakes. Sometimes the meat is blanched. At that point the meat is ready for the Vincent screw presses.

Generally, single or double pressing is employed, although most Dominican Republic processors use triple pressing to obtain the highest yield. Usually they add hot water to the press cake after the first pressing. The most progressive of the processors uses a counterflow system to minimize water addition and improve yield.

The most popular screw press for coconut is one with a 16″ diameter screw. Originally Vincent VP-16 and Rietz RSP-16 presses were used. Today it is the Model KP-16L. The throughput capacity is over 4,000 kilos of meat per hour. The yield of expelled cream falls in the range all the way from 45% to 57%, depending on the processing, variety, and maturity. The fat in the cream ranges from 31% to 35%.

The greatest quantity of coconut is processed in the Philippines. There a plant will run 400,000 to 600,000 coconuts a day. Most of this goes to the production of desiccated coconut, a food ingredient. In the Dominican Republic, 40,000 to 60,000 coconuts a day would be a more typical figure. However, this is all for production of coconut cream. So the plants in both countries use 16″ presses, operating at similar production rates.

Issue 31