Toddy is an alcoholic beverage. The traditional toddy is made from coconut palm sap and not from coconut water. There is no two ways about it. But it does have a very low alchohol content. So having a swig every now and then on a hot summer day is just going to keep you cool and not make you tipsy.
Coconut sap comes from the tree. Close to where the coconut flowers bloom, right under it is where the tree can be tapped to collect its sap. So a person who is talented enough to climb the tree and secure a container, (mostly bamboo) will collect the sap every day early in the morning or just during sunset. Why twice every day you ask ? Well if you are climbing up to collect the sap from the bottle you set up in the morning, you might as well set up the next bottle before you climb all the way down ;-). If that doesn’t convince you, here is the real reason.
The tree sap ….
A very interesting read on how tree saps are collected.
https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/how-much-sap
So what happens to the tree, when the sap is collected. The tree that is tapped continuously does not give fruits. It just flowers. No damage done to the tree, and a sure way to avoid a coconut from falling on someones head.
Now the sap which has been very carefully extracted has to be processed fast as it starts to ferment very quickly. So the sap is fermented and toddy is made in the next 24 hours. But for city bums like me who don’t have access to coconut sap , we have to make do with coconut water to make the toddy.
This recipe uses coconut water, yeast and sugar. Given the 24 hours time the yeast will do the job for you. All you have to do is drink it with a dash of lime and ginger. The drink is mildly fizzy, sweet and sour and best served cold. You can extend its shelf life by refrigerating it. But it tasted better for the first 48 hours.
Ingredients
Coconut water
Fresh coconut water. Can use packaged coconut water, but I prefer the fresh coconut water.
Yeast
I use the Brewer’s yeast or the regular baking yeast.
Sugar
White sugar is odourless and gives a creamy white toddy. Can increase the sugar based n your sweetness tolerance. The sugar given in the recipe is mild and just right.
Sugarcane juice Optional
Substitute 1/2 of coconut water with sugarcane juice for a sweeter toddy.
The cast yeast I used for the recipe.
Variations to the toddy using coconut water
Substitute 1/2 of coconut water with sugarcane juice for a sweeter toddy. Lesser in coconut flavour but sweeter.
Tips to make a perfect toddy using coconut water.
Buy the smallest tender coconut. The bigger coconut has coconut water with higher fatty acids which turn rancid or give a very coconut oil flavour.
Do not stir before filtering the toddy out of the first container.
Use the baking yeast or the sparkling wine yeast to make the toddy.
If you are using a keg with a tight cap, release the CO2 every 4 hours during fermentation
Step by step video
Recipe
How to make toddy using coconut water.
- 500 ml Coconut water
- 3 tsp Sugar (powdered preferred)
- ½ tsp Baking Yeast or Sparkling wine yeast
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700 Ml coconut water ,3tsp sugar & 1/2tsp yeast and mix well . cover the jar just with a muslin cloth. Keep the jar in a dark and warm place for 24 hrs once ready strain the toddy through the muslin cloth and use the toddy within 2 days
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Strain the coconut water into a clean dry jar.
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Add the sugar, stir it dissolves. You can increase the sugar to a max of 5 tbsp for 500 ml of coconut water if you prefer your toddy very very sweet.
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Add the yeast and stir for a few seconds.
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Set aside for 24 hours. Allow it to ferment in a dark place with temperature between 10-25 C.
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Do not stir, but strain the toddy through the strainer leaving behind the last 50 ml
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Refrigerate and have it cold with a dash of lime and ginger.
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Toddy has a very short shelf life, so use it before 48 hours.
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A variation of this is to use equal parts of Sugar cane juice and coconut water.
Naturally Hema 