Using peanut brittle making equipment to create your golden sweet

The peanut brittle processing line starts with the preparation of the peanut, which should be peeled and roasted. Peanuts can be baked at 350 °F for 10 – 15 minutes if shelled or 20 – 15 minutes if unshelled, or until the peanuts turn light golden brown. These are then peeled using a dry peanut peeling machine.

Using roller friction, the peels are removed in utmost 97% of the peanuts while maintaining peanut structure. Once peeled and roasted, you can mix your peanuts with cooked sugar syrup using a mixer. Now your peanut brittle is ready to be shaped and cut.

Ensuring hard crack perfection for your sugar syrup

How you make your sugar syrup affects the final texture of your peanut brittle. Sugar syrup must reach the hard crack stage. You can use a calibrated candy thermometer during measurement for proper verification.

The hard crack stage establishes the stability of your peanut brittle. At the hard crack stage, the extremely high temperature fully completes sugar crystallization, imparting the hardest texture on your peanut brittle. Sugar concentration is at 99% or higher while moisture content is at 1% or less. The hard crack stage is reached when your sugar syrup is cooked at 300 to 310 °F. Failure to achieve this stage results in incomplete crystallization, leading to a rubbery product.

Raw or roasted? Which peanut should I use?

Chikki: One of the million varieties of peanut brittle

Additional ingredients can be added to your peanut brittle to make it unique. In India, their regional variant, chikki, introduces jaggery into the recipe, an unrefined Indian cane sugar. The jaggery is added to the sugar solution during the cooking process. Additional steps include chopping or sifting the jaggery before mixing with the sugar solution. Aside from the sugar, you will also need to dissolve the jaggery to ensure a smoother consistency.