In honor of our new partnership with SJS, we will be discussing Almond processing. Many of us love almonds, in salads, as a snack, roasted, but how do they get from the tree to our tables? Here’s an inside look at the process:
Food processing can mean anything from washing to cooking, to packaging, and more. All foods are handled differently depending on the end state in which they will be sold to the public. Once almonds are picked they are separated into almonds that will be sold in-shell and those that will be sold out of the shell.
Almonds that will be sold in shell are sent through a sorting and cleaning process before going on to packaging. The process for unshelled nuts is a bit more complex.
The Process
Almonds start their process in the receiving pit, where they make their way up a screw or spiral conveyor to screens that will begin the process of removing dirt, sticks, and leaves from the almonds. After screens do the initial separation, the almonds make their way through equipment that removes stones and twigs.
The almonds are then dried and sent into storage. From storage, the almonds are pulled out with a conveyor and sent through a hulling cylinder or shear roll. After the almond shells have been cracked and removed, the almonds are once more sent through screens to separate the aspirated shells from the almond meat. Almonds that are still enclosed in their shells are sent back to repeat the process.
After almonds are sent through this process they can be packaged or sent through further processing often at a different location where they may be roasted, diced, salted, or other to change the final product.
GK Solutions
General Kinematics equipment has been utilized in the food process industry for decades. Now with our new partnership with San Joaquin Systems, GK will be better positioned to supply key technology to keep almond producers running with minimal downtime. If you are looking to breath new life into your almond processing give us a call!
