Mineral Composition of Coconut Candy Made from Chocolate, Sugar, Honey and Coconut

Abstract

Value addition of coconut has a vital role to develop new products for increasing the income of the people. Coconut products and by-products can be commercially exploited for multiple purposes. The making of candy allows the researcher to learn and take into account many scientific aspects of food production. The study assessed the mineral composition of coconut candy produced. Coconut and original honey used in this study was procured at Sayedero market in Ilaro, it was packed in a sterile polythene bag which was later transported to the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro Food Processing Laboratory prior to further processing. Other materials such as;honey, sugar, chocolate were also used in this study.  Mineral analysis of this study revealed that coconut candy made from coconut, sugar, honey and chocolate contained traces of essential minerals which include; magnesium, calcium, potassium and no traces of manganese. Analysis of this study revealed that magnesium content ranged from 85.18±0.00 to 97.54±0.00%, calcium composition ranged from 12.53±0.04% to 23.81±0.01 while the potassium composition of the coconut candyranged from 499.35±0.07 to 666.30±0.00%. and no traces of manganese was observed in the samples. This study has clearly shown possibility of utilization of coconut, sugar, honey and chocolate for production of candy. This would support industrial utilization and the consumption of under-utilized crops such as coconut.