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Copra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. The name copra is derived from the Malayalam word kopra (കൊപ്ര) for dried coconut. Copra is not to be mistaken as the scientific name for coconut (Cocos nucifera L., Arecaceae or palm family).
Coconut oil is traditionally extracted by grating or grinding copra, then boiling it in water. It was developed as a commercial product by merchants in the South Seas and South Asia in the 1860s. Nowadays, the process of coconut oil extraction is done by crushing copra to produce coconut oil; the by-product is known as cake.
Making copra — removing the shell, breaking up, drying — is usually done where the coconut palms grow. Today, large plantations with integrated operations have appeared, but in former years copra was collected by traders going from island to island and port to port in the Pacific Ocean.
In India, Tiptur in Tumkur District (Karnataka state) is famous for its copra. It is a major export of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tuvalu, as well as several Caribbean countries.
Copra meal is also used as fodder for horses and cattle. Its high oil levels and protein are very fattening for stock and it is popular among horse enthusiasts. [1]
19th century copra trading inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 novella The Beach of Falesa.