Services
Spice Plantation
Name of the Spice
Vanilla/ Orchid Spice
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cardamom
Pepper
Cloves
Chilli
Curry leaves
Turmeric
Ginger
Botanical Name
Vanilla Tahitensis
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum
Myristical Fragrans
Elettaria Cardmonium
Piper Nigrum
Syzygrum Aromaticum
Capsicum Frutiscens
Murraya Koenid
Curcuma Longa
Zingiber OffcinaleRoc
Agro Processing
Cashew nut Processing
The raw cashew nuts are procured from the local farmers and local markets. These cashew nuts are dried in the sun for a period of two days and are then stored in gunny bags for processing throughout the year. The process of sun-drying helps in the removal of excess moisture thus resulting in longer storage. The processing of cashew nut is a four-stage process, each designed to produce quality edible cashew kernel.
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Steam Roasting
The outer shell of the raw cashew nuts has to be removed to produce the edible cashew kernel. The outer shell of the cashew is very hard and it contains a corrosive oil which is harmful for human consumption. The process of steam roasting helps in removal of this hard shell with minimal effort. The raw cashew nuts are put in a drum connected to a mini boiler. The steam from this mini boiler is passed over the cashew nuts placed in the drum for a period of 10 -15 minutes. These cashew nuts are left in the drum for 20 minuets for proper roasting. The roasted cashew nuts are then taken out of the drum and placed in the open air for a period of around 12 hours to let them cool down and help in removal of the cashew shells.
Shell Cutting
The roasted cashew nuts are then taken to the cutting department to remove the outer shell. This is a complex process and requires highly skilled labor to get maximum unbroken kernel output. This process required each cashew nut to be individually placed between blades of the machine operated manually to remove the outer shell. This process results in production of cashew kernel with soft inner shell. These nuts are then placed in a oven which is constantly maintained at a temperature of about 60 degrees for a period of 24 hours to make the inner shell brittle.
Peeling
The inner shell of the kernel has to be removed to produce the white nuts. The peeling process is designed to remove this inner soft shell after the kernel is removed from the oven. The kernel is used for peeling after it is left in the open for a period of 12 hours. This cooling helps in peeling process. Each nut is individually peeled to get white nuts. These white nuts are then sent to the grading department.
Grading
The process of grading is designed to sort the white cashew kernel into different grades. The white kernel is divided into two main types wholes and pieces. The wholes are further divided into 15 grades and the pieces are divided into 9 main grades. The process of sorting wholes and the pieces is based on the size, color and texture of the nuts. The sorting is done based on the set international sizes. These nuts are then once again placed in the oven to make the nuts crispier before they are sent to the packaging department.
Packing
The cashew kernel are packed into plastic bags of different sized for sale in the local market and in tins of 10kgs for sending to other markets.
Vanilla Processing
Post-harvest processing and curing of the vanilla beans is an important part of vanilla cultivation. To get quality-cured beans, one uses the experience gained along with sound technical know-how.
Harvesting
Vanilla beans are ready for harvest in six to nine months after pollination. The beans are harvested one by one when they are fully grown and as they begin to ripen. At this stage, beans change their colour from dark green to light green with a yellow tinge. The well-ripened ready beans detach easily from the bunch just by lifting them in the reverse direction whereas the immature beans are very difficult to detach. As the green beans do not have any aroma, the processing and curing of these beans should start within a week of harvest.
Harvesting
Vanilla beans are ready for harvest in six to nine months after pollination. The beans are harvested one by one when they are fully grown and as they begin to ripen. At this stage, beans change their colour from dark green to light green with a yellow tinge. The well-ripened ready beans detach easily from the bunch just by lifting them in the reverse direction whereas the immature beans are very difficult to detach. As the green beans do not have any aroma, the processing and curing of these beans should start within a week of harvest.
Grading
The grading of the vanilla beans is done based on the size and appearance of the beans due to the high correlation between these factors and the aroma of the beans i.e. the vanillin content. The beans are classified according to their length into three main categories. After sorting the beans are washed with fresh water to remove any dust present on the beans.
Killing
Graded beans are transferred to a bamboo basket and immersed in hot water at a temperature of 65oC for periods varying between 4 minutes to 1.5 minutes depending on the length and size of the beans.
Sweating
The beans taken from the killing process are then kept in a wooden box lined with a blanket for 24 hours, for sweating. The temperature is initially maintained at around 45 degrees. The beans attain a light brown colour and start imparting aroma at the end of the sweating process.
Sun drying
Later on, the beans are spread in the hot sun (from 12 noon to 2 pm) over a wooden loft on a clean black blanket. The temperature of the bean, at this time, is to get raised to 55oC. After 2 hours of sun drying, they are bundled together covered with the same blanket, and kept in sun for half to one hour, so that, sweating initiates there itself. Later on, the bundles are transferred to the sweating box. This process is repeated for 2-7 days depending again on-size of the beans. At the end of this period, the beans lose half of the initial weight, turn to a shining dark brown colour and develop wrinkles. This process improves the aroma of the beans.