Kopyor coconut

Macapuno or coconut sport is a naturally occurring coconut cultivar which has an abnormal development of the endosperm. The result of this abnormal development is a soft translucent jelly-like flesh that fills almost the entire central cavity of coconut seeds, with little to no coconut water. Macapuno was first described scientifically from wild specimens in 1931 by Edwin Copeland. They were first cultivated commercially in the Philippines after the development of the 'embryo rescue' in vitro culture technology in the 1960s by Emerita V. De Guzman. It has become an important crop in coconut-producing countries and is now widely used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands.Macapuno tarts from the PhilippinesMacapuno pastillas from the PhilippinesUbe macapuno pianono from the PhilippinesHalo-halo with macapuno strips from the PhilippinesMacapuno ice cream in CaliforniaUbe macapuno ice cream in HawaiiEs kelapa kopyor from Indonesia Macapuno or coconut sport is a naturally occurring coconut cultivar which has an abnormal development of the endosperm. The result of this abnormal development is a soft translucent jelly-like flesh that fills almost the entire central cavity of coconut seeds, with little to no coconut water. Macapuno was first described scientifically from wild specimens in 1931 by Edwin Copeland. They were first cultivated commercially in the Philippines after the development of the 'embryo rescue' in vitro culture technology in the 1960s by Emerita V. De Guzman. It has become an important crop in coconut-producing countries and is now widely used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The name macapuno (also spelled makapuno) is derived from Tagalog makapuno, the local name of the phenotype in the Philippines, meaning 'almost full', a reference to the way the endosperm in macapuno coconuts fill the interior hollow of coconut seeds. It is also known as dong kathi in Cambodia, thairu tengai in India, kopyor in Indonesia and Malaysia, niu garuk in Papua New Guinea, pia in Polynesia, dikiri pol in Sri Lanka, maprao kathi (Thai: กะทิ) in Thailand, and dừa sáp ('wax coconut') in Vietnam. It is impossible to distinguish macapuno seeds from normal seeds from the external appearance of the fruits. The only way to ascertain if a seed has the macapuno phenotype is to open it. Normal coconut flesh mostly consists of galactomannan as a source of energy. In the development process, this substrate is degraded into two sub-components, galactose and mannose. In macapuno, the enzyme for degrading this substrate, α-D-galactosidase, is not active. Hence, the endosperm fails to nourish the embryo, resulting in a collapsed embryo. Besides this enzyme, a couple of other enzymes are also suspected of being involved in the development of this trait: sucrose synthase and stearoyl acyl carrier protein desaturase. Macapuno coconuts have a higher sucrose proportion (92% of total sugar) and contain more total amino acids compared with young mature coconuts. The lipid content in the flesh is also lower compared to young mature coconut flesh. In addition to the higher content of citric and malic acids, all these properties may contribute to the taste of macapuno flesh. Macapuno are classified into three types (I, II, and III), depending on how much the soft endosperm fills the seeds. The Macapuno phenotype is believed to be controlled by a recessive gene (m) expressed as a homozygous condition in wild macapuno-bearing palms. This would explain why naturally-occurring macapuno palms bear both macapuno seeds and normal seeds, as pure macapuno palms would be impossible in the wild. Laboratory experiments have also shown that self-pollinated or cross-pollinated rescued macapuno embryos result in pure macapuno palms that have 100% macapuno seed yields, reinforcing the hypothesis. The presence of the dominant gene M would produce normal viable coconuts. The xenia effect may also play a factor in the expression of macapuno phenotypes. Macapuno occurs sporadically in the wild at very low rates of 0.15% throughout the native range of Pacific coconuts. It occurs in palms which bear both the macapuno and normal seeds. Macapuno was initially reported in scientific literature in 1931 by Edwin Copeland, an American botanist working for the Department of Agriculture of the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands (then an American territory). The original specimens were described from Laguna, Philippines and Java, Indonesia. Macapuno remained rare and expensive, despite being valued as a traditional delicacy, because macapuno seeds are non-viable. While the embryos of macapuno seeds are normal, the surrounding abnormal endosperm can not support their germination, thus rendering macapuno seeds effectively sterile. Traditional propagation of macapuno involved taking the viable (normal) seeds from the same racemes as macapuno seeds and planting them. While macapuno yields could be increased by planting macapuno-bearing palms close together or in isolation, the chances of the phenotype reoccurring in the fruits of the progeny was very low, at only 2 to 21%.