A Warm Embrace of Comfort and Flavor In classic comfort foods, few dishes evoke the same sense of warmth and satisfaction as French Onion Soup. This timeless culinary creation seamlessly marries simplicity with depth of flavor, making it a cherished favorite for countless individuals worldwide. As you delve into a steaming bowl of this rich and aromatic concoction, you journey through the history, ingredients, and preparation techniques that transform humble onions into a culinary masterpiece. The origins of French Onion Soup can be traced back to ancient times, with onions being a staple in many cultures due to their availability and long shelf life. However, the French elevated this humble vegetable to culinary stardom. The soup's roots are believed to lie in Paris during the 18th century, when the lower classes commonly consumed the dish. Onions, abundant and affordable, were slowly caramelized to improve their natural sweetness and depth of flavor. Over time, the addition o...
Coconut fiber is a natural fibers extracted from the husk or external part of the fruit of the coconut tree, Cocos nucifera , which is a species of palm in the Arecaceae family. The fragments, threads or hair of the fiber is used in products such as carpets, mats, brushes and mattresses.
The fibrous material is found between the hard inner shell
and the outer layer of the coconut called the bark. Other uses of the coppery
coir, made from the ripe fruit, are in upholstery padding, in bagging and in
horticulture.
The coir white, harvested from unripe coconuts used to make
finer brushes, ropes, ropes and fishing nets. It has the benefit or property of
not sinking, so it can be used for long stretches in deep water without the
added weight dragging vessels and buoys.
The original residue from the coconut fruit production
process is composed of individual yarn cells that are narrow and hollow, with
thick cellulose walls. They are pale when immature, then harden and yellow as a
layer of lignin is deposited on their walls. The filaments are typically 10 to
30 centimeters long . The two varieties of coir are coppery and white. Copper
coir harvested from fully mature coconuts is thick, strong, and has high
resistance to abrasion. It is typically used on mats, brushes, and sacks.
They have more lignin and less cellulose than fibers such as
linen and cotton, making them stronger but less flexible. The white coir fibers
harvested from coconuts before they are ripe are white or light copper in color
and are softer and finer, but also thinner. As a general rule, they are spun to
make thread used in mats or ropes.
This vegetable fiber for making yarn or textile has
properties such as being partially waterproof , and it is one of the few
natural strands resistant to damage caused by brackish water. Fresh water is
used to process copper coir, while seawater and fresh water are used in the
production of white coir or substrate. It should not be confused with coir
marrow, or in the past with cocopeat, which is the powdered material resulting
from coir processing.
Other characteristics of textile coconut fiber are:
• It is
very durable
• Resistant
to the rays of the sun
• Dries
fast
• Does not
wrinkle,
• Is light,
• Ecological
• Chemical
free.
The natural fiber extracted from the husk is locally called
coprah, koppara, or copra in certain countries, adding to the confusion.
The countries where there are more coconuts are Indonesia,
the Philippines, Brazil, India, Sr Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand or Mexico.
Types of coconut fiber
When the debris is extracted from the husk of ripe coconuts,
they are naturally coppery in color, have a strong and thick nature and good
resistance to abrasion. This organic textile strand is called Fibra Cobrizo .
When the yarn is extracted from immature coconuts. They are
natural white in color and have soft and fine touch properties, apart from
being thinner than copper fiber. It is called Fibra Blanca .
Coconut fiber preparation process
Manufacturing and its products is a time-consuming process
for coconut distributors and exporters, where different techniques are used to
get the strand from the coconut husk. The fruit is covered by organic coconut
fiber on the strong layer of husk. It is connected to the strong core of the
husk that is chemically reactive.
By hand, the workers use wooden mallets to glue the pulp
extracted after the rearing to defibrate the marrow and the yarn. Now modern
machines have steel drums with beater arms to separate the fiber and the core.
The medulla and strand are collected separately through the use of rotating
steel drums. Then the strands are cleaned with water and dried in the sun to
extract the clean ones.
Sustainable clothing made from coconut waste
The fashion industry is the second largest consumer and
polluter of natural resources on the planet, with an urgent need for
sustainable alternatives. In this sense, sustainable clothing made with coconut
residues derived from the manufacture of organic nano-cellulose fabrics are a
good alternative to the consumption of synthetic and polluting textiles.
Some of the natural garments made from fabrics produced from
coconut waste are T-shirts, pants, shirts made with 55 percent polyester and 45
percent coconut yarn fabric, although with current advances the goal is to
achieve in the future that many clothing items such as dresses are one hundred
percent made from this vegetable fiber.