Cashew Nut Milk Processing Plant

1. Cashew milk is made primarily from a blend of cashews kernels and water. Other ingredients may include almonds, calcium carbonate, vitamins E, A, and D2, salt, natural flavor, and lecithin (an emulsifier). Other ingredients, including sugar, are added if the milk is flavored.
2. Similar to most other plant-based milks, cashew milk contains low levels of saturated fat, Cashews are abundant in monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are considered “good fats.” Cashew nut kernels present high protein levels (23%), with all the essential amino acids for humans. They also present high levels of lipids (44%), with mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids being the major components among them. But the cashew milk are much lower in protein, so calcium and vitamins A and D are often added to into the end products.
3. A cashew nut beverage can be obtained by grinding the kernel with water in the proportion of 1:10 (m/m) with added sugar at 3%, followed by heat treatment at 140ºC for four seconds. The proximate composition was 11.49% total solids, 0.26% ashes, 1.83% proteins, 3.97% lipids and 5.43% total carbohydrates. The pH remained above 6.49 and the color darkened during storage. The product was considered microbiologically safe and shelf-stable for at least 2 months, and sensory acceptance remained at an average value of 7.1 on a 9-point hedonic scale.
4. The whole cashew nut milk processing line includes cashew kernel soaking and washing machine, cashew nut kernel grinding machine, cashew nut milk filtering machine and blending tanks, cashew nut milk pasteurizer(UHT sterilizer), homogenizer, degasser unit, cashew nut milk filling machine, CIP system for milk equipment cleaning, RO water generating system for cashew milk ingredients.
5. The capacity of the cashew nut milk processing line is range from 500LPH-5000LPH, and the end products can be filled into the bottles, cartons, tin cans or other small packages.
6. All the material are made of SUS304 material, and it is in accordance with food grade regulations.

To make cashew milk, the first step is to wash and dry the kernels. The cashew nuts are soaked in hot water to remove the hull, and then soaked again in cold deionized water. Then they are drained, rinsed in stainless steel washing tank and wet-milled by colloid mill or superfine grinder. Then the cashew nut slurry will be obtained and filtered by the vibrate screen filter to remove the solid materials in the milk. After that, other ingredients such as gums, lecithin, and flavors, are added to thicken, emulsify, sugar and salt are added to enhance flavor into the cashew nut slurry to make the cashew nut milk. The last step is pasteurizing or UHT sterilizing to remove the bacteria, homogenizing to increase the color and flavor, degassing to remove the air, then we will obtain the shelf stable cashew nut milk beverage.

The cashew kernel after soaking in hot water for 3-10 minutes to soften the peel, then it can be transfer to the kernel into this drum type peeling and washing machine. During the rotation of the drum, the material in the drum rubbing against each other and the wall of the drum, so that the surface dirt and peel are peeled off. To increase the effect of cleaning and peeling, the brushes can also be installed into the drum. This drum cleaning and peeling machine can be used for cashew nut, walnut, peanut washing and peeling.

The colloid mill is used for grinding the cashew nut kernel into the paste or slurry. Its working principle is through high-speed operation, grinding between the stator and rotor, and high-speed stirring, relying on the relative movement of two tooth-shaped surfaces, one of which rotates at high speed at 3000 revolutions per minute, and the other is in a static state, so that the fluid material is subjected to greater shear, friction and high-frequency vibration, the fluid material can be effectively refined, pulverized, and homogenized into the paste.

The cashew nut paste after the filter, then the material will be pumped into blending tank, in the blending tank, RO pure water will be added to dilute the paste into the milk. At the same time, to increase the flavor and nutrition, other ingredients like salt, sugar, and vitamin agents will also be added to the cashew nut milk in the blending tanks.

Cashew nut milk beverages are first homogenized by a 35-40Mpa homogenizer, and then sterilized. The homogenization process before sterilization reduces the chance of material being contaminated by bacteria, and the homogenized milk entering the sterilizer is not easy to scale.

Cashew nut milk contains protein, fat, and carbohydrates, they are a good culture medium for bacteria. The prepared milk needs to be sterilized as soon as possible. If cold chain milk is produced, it can be realized by a plate pasteurizer. After pasteurization, the material is quickly cooled to 4°C and filled into a closed container. The shelf life can usually be stored for 1-3 weeks; if it is produced at room temperature, then it needs to be sterilized by UHT sterilizer/DSI sterilizer, then filled into aseptic cartons at room temperature or hot-filled into bottles. The shelf life can usually reach 9-12 months.