Nut blanching is a thermal process that loosens and removes the thin skin, or pellicle, from kernels such as almonds and hazelnuts, making them suitable for bakery, confectionery and paste applications that require a clean, pale kernel.
In trade practice
Kernels are immersed briefly in hot water or exposed to steam, then passed through rubber rollers or abrasive equipment to strip the pellicle, before being dried to a safe moisture level. QA teams check for residual skin fragments, surface moisture and colour uniformity after blanching. Insufficient drying after blanching is a frequent cause of mould development during storage, so water activity measurement is a standard post-process check.
In a specification
Specifications for blanched kernels typically state maximum residual skin percentage, target moisture content and acceptable colour range, often assessed against a reference colour chart agreed between buyer and supplier.