Hazelnut Processing Plant & Machinery Solutions

The papery husk left after harvest is removed and the in-shell nuts are dried in warm air to a stable storage condition. Drying protects the crop through storage and prepares the shell for cracking.

Nuts are graded into size bands and cracked band by band, after which shell and kernel are parted by air and density. Hazelnut shell is brittle and light, so aspiration carries most of it away from the kernel stream.

Kernels are roasted in hot air, which develops flavour and dries and loosens the brown skin covering the kernel. Roasted kernel is cooled before it moves on so it does not carry heat into the next stage.

The loosened skin is rubbed off the kernel and the skin flakes are drawn away by suction. Blanched kernel is the form most confectionery and bakery buyers specify.

Kernels are sorted by colour and inspected for shell fragments, mouldy and shrivelled kernel and foreign matter. Metal and X-ray checks run on the same line before the product is released to packing.

Part of the kernel is chopped or diced and part is milled into hazelnut meal and paste for industrial buyers, while the rest is packed whole. Each stream is weighed, filled, coded and cased on the same finishing line.