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Fruit from Pagsanjan, Laguna, Philippines

Nata de piña (pineapple bacterial-cellulose gel)nata de piña

Nata de piña is a chewy, translucent gel grown on pineapple juice by acetic acid bacteria, which spin a mat of cellulose on the still surface. In one Thai study, juice with added ammonium sulphate gave a mat 12.14 mm thick after 15 days at 30 °C.

Fully documentedFruit15 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceLevels tested in a Thai lab study; it does not give a batch size.
Pineapple juiceCultivar Pattavia in the study; high in sugar[rojsuntornkitti2020]
Ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4)0.3–0.5 % w/vNitrogen source; 0.5 % gave the thickest mat[rojsuntornkitti2020]
Acetobacter xylinum culture[rojsuntornkitti2020]
StarterAcetobacter xylinum culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 days

Start
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What changes: Ammonium sulphate goes into the pineapple juice as food for the bacteria

Step 1 of 5
Prepare the juice and add a nitrogen source
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Acetobacter xylinum
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Nata de piña is a chewy, translucent gel grown on pineapple juice by acetic acid bacteria, which spin a mat of cellulose on the still surface. In one Thai study, juice with added ammonium sulphate gave a mat 12.14 mm thick after 15 days at 30 °C. Made in 5 steps over 15 days. The longest step, inoculate and ferment, takes 15 days (Rojsuntornkitti K 2020) and runs at 30 °C (Rojsuntornkitti K 2020). Acetobacter xylinum (now Komagataeibacter xylinus), which makes the cellulose mat does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step15 daysReported[rojsuntornkitti2020]Inoculate and ferment
Temperature30 °CReported[rojsuntornkitti2020]Inoculate and ferment
AciditypH 5Reported[chng2020]Sterilise the pineapple-waste medium (lab study)

What makes this one different

Nata de piña is grown on pineapple juice instead of the coconut water used for nata de coco. Because pineapple is seasonal, it is less common.

Related ferments

Safety

No safety study of nata de piña itself was found. For bacterial cellulose in general, a 2026 review says nata de coco has been used as food in Asia, and that bacterial cellulose has had US GRAS status since 1992. The same review says unpurified nata de coco cellulose carried endotoxin at up to 450 EU/g, and that heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, copper) have been found in the cellulose, probably from environmental contamination or the carbon source the bacteria grew on. It says washing and purification steps aim to remove such residues, and that traces may remain. This is general to bacterial cellulose, not measured on pineapple gel. Use food-grade ammonium sulphate, not garden fertiliser; US rules accept it as a food ingredient only when it meets the Food Chemicals Codex [cfr-ammonium].

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Nata de piña has been made in Pagsanjan, Laguna, since the 18th century from waste pineapple juice of the piña-fibre industry [wp].

  1. [rojsuntornkitti2020] Rojsuntornkitti K., Jittrepotch N., Kongbangkerd T., Phanumong P., Thongchuang M., Kraboun K. 2020, Effect of (NH4)2SO4 on some qualities of nata de pina produced by Acetobacter xylinum, Food and Environment Safety 19(1) (abstract)paper
  2. [chng2020] Ch'ng C.H., Abd Rahman M.R., Muhamad I.I., Pa'e N., Abang Zaidel D.N. 2020, Optimization of bacterial cellulose production from pineapple waste using different fermentation method, Chemical Engineering Transactions 78, 559–564, doi:10.3303/CET2078094paper
  3. [ciccone2026] Ciccone M., Tsochatzis E., Njieukam J.A., Siroli L., Gottardi D., Lanciotti R., Patrignani F. 2026, Investigation of potential risks in bio-based food contact materials from microbial exploitation of agricultural wastes, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 25, e70480, doi 10.1111/1541-4337.70480 (section on bacterial cellulose)paper
  4. [cfr-ammonium] US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 184.1143, Ammonium sulfategov
  5. [wp] English Wikipedia, Nata de piña, read 2026-10-23wiki