Nata de coco is a biomass composed of cellulose, gelatin shaped and white, in which the mass is derived from the fermentation of Acetobacter xylinum in coconut water. During the fermentation, Acetobacter xylinum needs nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen to grow, where the carbon source is obtained from sugar and nitrogen source is obtained from ZA. The recently emerged case regarding the use of ZA fertilizers has raised many polemics in the urban community because of its nature for plants, making it a non food grade products. Therefore the alternative is needed to replace the role of ZA in nata de coco making process. The existence of nitrogen in soaked soybean water from Tempe “Kweni”, an industry in Bantul, has been proven through laboratory results, in which there is a 0,05% content of nitrogen, which had qualified the subtitutes of ZA. Soybean soaked water is also acidic (pH 4-
5) so the addition of acetic acid in nata de coco production is unnecessary. The purpose of this study is to determine the formulation of helping materials as a replacement for ZA for making nata de coco, identify the characteristic of nata de coco without ZA from the sensory test results and determine the technical and financial feasibility of nata de coco without ZA production.
In this research, trial production of nata de coco without ZA will use 5 variations of waste water concentrations, which is 20%, 25%, 30%, 40% and 50%. Results showed that after 8 days of fermentation the best concentration is obtained from 30% soaked soybean water adding, with 1,2 – 1,3 cm nata thickness. According to sensory response (aroma, texture and flavor) nata de coco without ZA had a better result compared to nata de coco with ZA
Keywords: nata de coco, soybean, Zwavelzuur Ammonia