Learn the Macadamia Nut Processing Process
Perhaps you have heard a lot about macadamia nuts - a queen in the world of dried nuts, right? but do you know the macadamia nut processing process? If not, please follow this article by Sunshine Macadamia!
The macadamia nut processing process includes the following steps!
Harvest macadamia nuts
To have quality macadamia nuts, the time to harvest macadamia nuts is very important. To ensure quality, macadamia nuts are usually harvested when the outer shell turns brown and begins to separate from the tree. Normally, the main harvest of macadamia falls from May to August every year. Macadamia can be harvested by hand or with specialized machinery.
Separate the green peel
After harvesting, macadamia nuts are cleaned and sorted to remove impurities and substandard seeds. After that, the seeds are dehulled using specialized machines such as Vinmax VMMC3000, 3A750W,...
Because the water content in macadamia shells is very high, the green shells must be separated as soon as possible to avoid damage to the seeds inside.
Classification of macadamia nuts
To facilitate the drying process of macadamia nuts to ripen evenly, it is necessary to classify macadamia nuts according to size. Besides, this step also makes it easier to package finished products before bringing them to market.
Wash macadamia nuts
After being shelled, macadamia nuts will still contain hidden dust and impurities, so they need to be washed before being dried. Normally this step will be mechanized to reduce labor for businesses because on the market today there are many machines specializing in washing macadamia nuts at relatively cheap prices.
Dry
Macadamia nuts are dried naturally by spreading them evenly on a tray or mesh in a cool and naturally windy place. If the weather is not sunny for a long time, you can dry it by machine to reduce the initial moisture before drying. Drying time is usually from 3 to 7 days depending on weather conditions.
Drying reduces moisture
After drying, the macadamia nuts continue to be dried at low temperature to lower the moisture content to about 1.5-2%. This helps preserve macadamia nuts longer and makes it easier to separate the hard shell.
Drying macadamia nuts
The drying process helps reduce moisture in macadamia nuts, prevent mold and prolong storage time. Macadamia nuts are dried at temperature and humidity according to each business's standards so as not to lose the nutrients and natural flavor of the nuts.
Normally, the process of drying macadamia nuts is at a fairly high temperature of about 100-120°C within 2 to 3 hours to reach the desired ripeness and crispness.
Remove the hard shell for filling or cut the shell
Separating the hard shell is an important step and requires high technology. Therefore, this step requires the use of modern machinery to effectively separate the hard shell without damaging the kernel inside.
In case the finished product is macadamia nuts with intact shells, a shelling machine will be used to create cracks in the shell. Because the shell of macadamia nuts is very hard, a groove must be created to cut the macadamia nuts so that users can easily separate the macadamia nuts by hand or a small pry (usually businesses selling macadamia nuts will sell them along with them). this pry).
Check the quality of macadamia nuts
After drying, macadamia nuts must undergo strict quality checks. Quality standards include grain moisture, size, color and flavor. For exported macadamia nuts, they must also meet chemical inspection standards such as nut nutritional content, chemical residue,... according to the regulations of the importing country.
Packing
Macadamia nuts are packaged in high-quality packaging to protect them from light and moisture. Currently, there are 3 forms of packaging for macadamia nuts: zip bags, glass boxes and paper boxes.
Preserve
Store macadamia nuts in a dry, cool place, away from direct sunlight and at a stable temperature. If long-term storage is needed, the seeds can be kept in cool storage (below 16°C) to maintain freshness.
Processing clean macadamia nuts requires a strict and meticulous process to ensure the final product meets high quality standards, is safe for health and retains its nutritional value. Above are the detailed steps in the macadamia nut processing process of Sunshine. Thank you for following the entire article!