How To Prepare Cashew Nuts For Sales
Table of Contents
So I basically decide to write about this when I went through my neighbourhood supermarts and found that a whole section has been dedicated to its sale.
Making and packaging different kinds of varieties of cashew nuts for sales or export is a very lucrative business.
Cashew nuts are not cheap however, they are easy to make or roast and the market for it is always available.
Benefits Of Cashew Nuts
Digestive System: It is a proven fact that cashew nuts are a good source of dietary fibre which helps to prevent indigestion.
Cashew oil gotten from cashew nuts after roasting is also good for the skin and the heart. This has been used by locals in my village for many years.
They are also used in different diary recipes especially when they are blended into creamy paste.
Cashew Nut Processing
There are two ways to make money from cashew nuts production;
1. Local production and packaging to sell in supermarkets and local stores.
2. Export: This entails gathering from different sources raw cashew nuts from different parts of the country where the cashew fruit is being cultivated, dried and packing for exports to different countries.
Steps To Process The Raw Cashew nuts
Before you venture into this business, you must make sure you have a consistent suppliers of raw cashew nuts. This is very key. Ok! Let’s move;
1. Drying: This might have been done by the farmers before delivering to you however, if it was not, you will need to spread and sun dry it or use a drying machine to dry the cashew nuts until it changes colour.
2. Once dried, you can decide to roast it. Roasting it is easier as it takes less time than boiling.
However, if you are going to steam it, the time for steaming depends largely on the amount you are producing. Takes from 30minutes (a jar) to 12-15hours (industrial production)
Steaming is important because cashew contains CNSL resin which is harmful to the body if not removed by roasting or steaming.
After roasting or steaming, you must allow to properly cool down to normal temperature before you attempt to break the shells. You will ruin it if you immediately starts de-shelling.
3. De-shelling: This is the process where the hard outer covering is removed. This can be done through a manual machine or an electric cashew nut breaker machine.
Note please, there are industrial machines which can tackle all these processes with only few human inclusion.
4. The next step is to separate the outer cover from the nut inside. This can be done using a specialized sieve which will help separate the husk from the nuts
5. Peeling: This is where you scrape the outer film and any other burnt or unwanted parts from the nut.
6. Dehydrating: You need to dry up its moisture to crunchy level. This too can be done by sundrying, using an oven etc
7. Packaging: This will depend on the different varieties you want to produce. If it is a spicy flavour, it would be mixed with ground cayene pepper and variety of spices before packaging or it can be packaged directly.
Some of the cashew products I saw at the supermarket was inside a bottle, others sealed cans etc
Comment below about what you think and don’t forget to help share this content. I would love to hear from you if you want to go into the business.
Chef Wale loves you.
