Apricot, cherry and plum juice & purée production technology
Natural apricot, cherry and plum purées are used in a variety of finished products such as smoothies, mixed juices, nectars, baby food, jams, fruit preparations and fillings for pastry, yogurt and ice cream.
Once sorted and washed, apricots and plums are passed through either rotary destoner or destoner‒pulper to have the pits, skin and fibre removed and the flesh reduced to a liquid. For maximum efficiency, pulping is applied in double stages. At this point, the purée may have air mixed in it, which can lead to deterioration of the nectar’s colour and flavour, and needs to be passed through a deaerator.
To obtain pressed juice, the destoned mash undergoes enzymatic treatment and is pressed similarly to the apple mash, making the juice drain readily.
Fresh or frozen whole cherries, however, can be crushed in a crusher or fed directly to either destoner‒pulper or rotary destoner to produce a destoned mash which is finished into a purée by the pulper.
With fresh cold-pressed cherry juice, destoning is not necessary when using a pneumatic press, yet it is highly important that subsequent processing is as delicate as possible to preserve the flavour.
SRAML stone fruit processing solutions ensure that you get the most – and the best – out of the fruit.
