Walnut processing is a fairly simple business – you crack a nut and sell the kernel. The lighter and more intact the kernel, the greater its value and your earnings. However, during processing, the kernel can crumble, reducing profits.
The reasons why the walnut kernel crumbles:
- The first reason is a break. Reasons for the break:
– incorrectly calculated impact forces when splitting with a hammer,
– not tuned nutcracker,
– not uncalibrated nut when splitting with a roll nutcracker.
To remedy this situation, you need to reduce the force of the hammer blow, reconfigure the nutcracker to the size of the nut, calibrate the nut, or replace the nutcracker with a more gentle (conical) one. - In addition, overdried nut crumbles – when the nut loses moisture, it becomes brittle and at the slightest impact (impact, fall or even manual bulkhead) the kernel breaks. At home, this is corrected by soaking in water or you can place the nut in a room with high humidity. The nut is saturated with moisture and regains its elasticity. IMPORTANT! This procedure must be carried out immediately before splitting, and after it the kernel must be dried. Otherwise, mold may develop.
- The last reason why “whole kernel” does not work out is the greedy nut. With such a nut, neither equipment nor soaking will do a miracle and will not give a whole kernel, because the problem is in the structure of the nut.
To obtain a whole kernel, you need to select equipment with a gentle split and follow the rules of drying and storage. The shell of a dry nut is easily cracked and separated from the kernel, and the kernel itself retains its integrity throughout the entire process of processing, packaging and transportation. According to standards, the optimum moisture content for storage is no more than 10%. With such humidity, the nut in the shell will be stored without problems and easily processed.
