Inventors:
Gerhard C. Zekert - Suffolk VA
Donald K. DeArment - Suffolk VA
Assignee:
Nabisco Brands, Inc. - Parsippany NJ
International Classification:
A23N 500
A23N 501
A23N 1200
Abstract:
A nut blanching arrangement in which nuts to be blanched are passed between first and second spaced, counter-rotating rollers. Each roller is provided with a plurality of hollow elastic tubular rings extending around its outer circumference. The tubular rings on the first roller are longitudinally aligned with respect to the tubular rings on the second roller such that each four adjacent tubular rings, two on each roller, form an opening through which the nuts pass during the blanching operation. In this arrangement, the nuts passing between the counter-rotating rollers are forced between the grooves of adjacent tubular rings such that the rings encapsulate and compress the nuts as they pass therebetween. The counter-rotating rollers are rotated at slightly different speeds such that during the blanching operation, the slight differential in the roller speeds causes the outer skin of the peanut to peel away from the nut meat.