Plantation Crops

Mechanical processing involves

• Moisture conditioning (Moisture content in the nut is increased to 15 to 25 %) === Roasting ==== Shelling ==== Peeling ( Removal of seed coat or testa ) -drying === Grading ==== Packing ( Vacuum packing extends shelf life in cashew by additional one year) = Marketing
• Roasting: Makes shell brittle Methods of roasting

  1) Drum roasting: Results in high percentage of wholes . Dis advantage here is loss of CNSL.
  2) Oil bath roasting: Shell gets heated and shell wall gets separated releasing oil into bath. i.e. CNSL is recovered.
  3) Steam boiling
  Shell contains 35 % CNSL and CNSL contains anacardiac acid to an extent of 90 %.