Pumpkin Processing Line

Pumpkin is an annual vine plant in the squash genus of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is a very common agricultural product and can be made into many delicious foods with high nutritional value. It is rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, carotene, pectin, and rich trace elements such as potassium, iron, and magnesium. In addition, there are some enzymes such as citrulline and arginine, and the fat content is very low, It is very beneficial to the human body. Pumpkin not only has a unique curative effect on diabetes, but also has various medicinal functions such as preventing cancer, constipation and treating atherosclerosis.

The fresh pumpkin can proceed into pumpkin juice, pumpkin powder, Pumpkin lactic acid bacteria fermented beverage, pumpkin sauce, etc. And the end products can be filled into bottles, cartons, cans and pouches.

The capacity for the pumpkin processing line is from 500kg per hour to 30 Tons per hour, through changing equipment, different products can be produced.

All the pumpkin processing equipment is made of SUS304 material, with premium quality and high hygiene standards.

The pumpkin processing line includes a pumpkin washing and sorting machine, pumpkin peeling, cutting and deseeding machine, pumpkin crushing and pulping machine, pumpkin pulp enzyme treatment system and filtering system, pumpkin juice formulation, homogenizing and sterilizing machine, pumpkin juice evaporating and dryer machine(for pumpkin powder making), pumpkin juice or powder filling and packing machine.

Pumpkin juice: include concentrated pumpkin juice(42Brix) and single-strength pumpkin juice and the end products can be filled into bottles, cans, cartons, or aseptic bags.

Pumpkin puree: Fresh pumpkin after washing, peeling, blanching, crushing and pulping, then we will get the pumpkin puree, then the pumpkin puree will be filtered and separated, then after sterilizing, the puree can be filled into aseptic bags.

Pumpkin powder: Fresh pumpkin juice after concentrating and drying, then filled into pouches, bags.

The flowchart for processing pumpkin are washing, sorting, peeling, deseeding, cutting, preheating, pulping, pumpkin juice enzyme treatment, pumpkin juice concentrating, sterilizing, homogenizing, and filling.

Pumpkin pretreatment includes pumpkin washing, sorting, peeling, deseeding, crushing and preheating. Choosing pumpkins with smooth appearance, hard skin, and intact pumpkins as raw materials for production, and clean the dirt on the surface with tap water. During the cleaning process, the pumpkins can be fed into the SUS304 cleaning tank and cleaned with high-pressure water and a brush. After the cleaning is completed, the pumpkin skin and pumpkin fibrous strands can be removed manually or by a machine, and then the pumpkin can be cut into pieces, and finally thrown into a crusher for crushing. The crushed pumpkin is then transported to the preheater, heated to 85-95°C with steam or hot water, pre-cooked and softened for 5 minutes, and then sent to the beating machine for beating.

Pump the softened pumpkin pulp into the beating machine to make the pumpkin pulp more refined, and filter out large solids and fibers through the beating machine screen. Water can be appropriately added during the beating process. The process of beating or juicing can be completed by a double-stage beating machine or a screw juicer.

To clarify the pumpkin pulp and get high-quality pumpkin juice, we use add enzyme into the pumpkin pulp, the enzymolysis process is completed in the enzymolysis tank. pectinase dosage 0.05%, pH5, enzymatic hydrolysis for 1.5h, temperature 55℃, the pumpkin juice yield can reach 48.7%.

The solid content in the pumpkin filtrate is about 10%. It is best to use a falling film evaporator to increase the solid content by concentration about 3 times. After concentration, the solid content is about 30%, and the water content is 60%-70%.

Use a spray dryer to instantaneously spray dry the pumpkin powder at a temperature of 190°C. The spray drying technology converts pumpkin juice from liquid to pumpkin powder through atomization and drying in an instant, which simplifies the processing technology of pumpkin powder, maintains the original nutrients of the pumpkin, greatly extends the shelf life, and makes the pumpkin powder easy to pack and use and transportation.

The ingredients of pumpkin juice mainly include β-carotene, malic acid, citric acid, acesulfame, stabilizers and so on. First, you need to turn on the mixing tank. While the machine is stirring, we must first add a stabilizer. Here is a juice drink stabilizer. Adding a stabilizer can increase the viscosity of the pumpkin drink, making it more stable, even and tasteful. Then add the β-carotene solution, then add the malic acid solution, the citric acid solution, and finally add the acesulfame solution. All the ingredients are fully dissolved and stirred for about 20-30 minutes, and then the material can be discharged.

The function of the degasser is to prevent oxygen from reacting with the pumpkin juice, which will affect the quality of the beverage. The temperature of the vacuum degasser is generally adjusted to about 60°C, and the degassing time is 25-30 minutes.

The purpose of homogenization is to make the ingredients in the pumpkin juice evenly mixed and more stable. It is required to adjust the pressure of the homogenizer to 15-20MPa. The homogenization time is 30 minutes. After passing through the homogenizer, the beverage directly reaches the buffer tank. The buffer tank acts as temporary storage for beverages.

The sterilization pressure should be adjusted to about 0.12MPa. First, adjust the temperature to about 120°C and keep it for about one minute for high-temperature sterilization. Then, adjust the temperature to around 80°C until the pumpkin juice cools down. It should be noted that the high-temperature sterilization step is very important, and we must strictly control the temperature. The sterilized beverage arrives in the aseptic storage tank and is temporarily stored and cooled.