Picking the perfect almonds for the perfect almond milk

Once harvested, almonds are passed through huller and sheller machines. In order to preserve flavor, it is crucial to store almonds properly. They can be stored in bins, silos, or bulk containers isolated from foreign smells as they absorb odors easily. Furthermore, almonds should be kept at temperatures lower than 10°C and relative humidity under 65%.

Milking almonds: key processes and almond milk manufacturing equipment

Before starting the production process, almonds should be soaked for 6 to 20 hours. Once soaked, almonds are bleached in almost boiling (90°C) water for 2.5 minutes, followed by going through the rubber rollers to remove the skin, preventing potential microbiological hazards. Almonds, water and emulsifiers, mainly soy lecithin, are added to a grinder to achieve emulsion. Soy lecithin decreases the tension between oils and water and stabilizes the emulsion.

The emulsified mixture is then filtered to remove solids which can reduce the mass by 25%. The next piece of almond milk manufacturing equipment in the production process is the blending tank in which the almond paste, syrup, emulsifier and other flavors are added to create the final product.

The type of agitator, temperature and blending play a crucial role in the beverage’s viscosity, texture and flavor. Almond milk is finally pasteurized at 90°C and maintained for 90 seconds to eliminate bacteria and achieve food safety standards. After that, the temperature is brought down to 4°C.

High-Pressure Process as an alternative food safety method

Although pasteurization is the most traditional and widely used method to achieve satisfactory food safety standards, one of the newly designed propositions is a so-called High-Pressure Process. The process is non-thermal, which means it does not use heat but relies on elevating pressure to eliminate hazardous microorganisms from sustenance. This process maintains all qualities of almond milk while, at the same time, damaging membranes of microorganisms, denaturing their proteins and disturbing their cell PH balance which inactivates them. It is achieved by placing the product in a pressure vessel, filling it with water and adding pressure up to 600MPa with a pump. The product is then unloaded and its original temperature is restored.

Do judge almond milk by its cover: different packages and what they mean

Almond milk comes in various packaging, but the difference is more than just aesthetic. For instance, almond milk that comes in glass bottles or tin cans is pre-pasteurized and secondary sterilized once in the packaging. If almond milk is sold in aseptic brick cartons, the product undergoes an ultra-pasteurization process, which is pasteurization at a higher temperature point.