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Product quality |
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Product Quality is very important to us. In fact, we created Pristine Gifts specifically to bring better quality gifts to you - our customer. We believe quality gifts taste nicer, feel better and last longer. So much so, we made it our motto!
We searched for suppliers that pride themselves in putting the extra effort in, and in so doing their products come out a notch above the rest. Instead of just taking our word for it, we thought we would show you the extra effort being put in!
MacNuts Farms
We asked one of our suppliers, MacNuts Farms, to take you through the process they use to deliver the finest nuts on the planet.
MacNuts Farms is New Zealand's finest macadamia nut orchard. MacNuts produce a wide range of macadamia products, which can be ordered online, or purchased at discounted prices from the on-site cafe, just minutes from Helensville.
MacNut Farms is not just New Zealand's largest macadamia orchard but also the largest macadamia processing facility. They process all their own orchard's nuts as well as macadamias from many other orchards in the North Island. MacNut aims to be the processor of choice to NZ growers by offering an efficient and competitive service.
The processing operation is broken into the stages detailed below:
Dehusking
Once the nuts are picked they are loaded into the hopper which feeds the dehusker (right). The dehusker has two rotating rollers which rip the tough outer husk from the nut.
The brown nut that emerges has a moisture content of around 25 % and weighs only about 46 % of the total. The huskings are composted and mixed with chicken litter to be used as fertiliser the following year. |
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Drying
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To allow the nut to be cracked and the crunchy taste to develop they must be dried from 25 % moisture after dehusking to 3% before cracking occurs.
At MacNut this is a two stage process. First the nuts are stored in a green house, which allows moisture content to be reduced to less than 10 %, then they are moved to a heated container with temperature between 40 - 50 deg C for a week to reduce the moisture to 3 %.
As you can see (above) they store their nuts in onion bags to allow airflow and easy handling. Each bag contains about 15 kg of nuts. |
The nuts leave the dryer and are put in the cracker hopper. The cracker consists of rotating knives that crack the nuts in a wedge shape.
The loose kernel and the nutshells then enter the trommel (shown below). The trommel is a rotating sieve with holes that get larger along its length. Small pieces fall out at the start and larger pieces further on, with any uncracked nuts rolling out the end to be re-cracked with the next batch.
Once the pieces have fallen through the holes in the trommel the shell is separated from the kernel using air blowers. As the nut and shell fall down air passes upwards. The lighter shell pieces are blown upwards into collection bins while the denser kernel falls onto the conveyor belt for hand sorting.
The waste shell makes a beautiful and unique driveway surface at the orchard - always a source of interest with visitors. The local birds have developed a taste for macadamia scraps left in the shells on the driveway. MacNuts sell shell in bags or in bulk by special request.
Cracking
On average MacNuts recover about 30 % of the nut weight as kernel the remaining 70 % is shell and waste.
The cracker and sorting operation is run on average 6 hrs a day, 5 days a week and can process around 500 kg of kernel each day. At the end of each day the equipment is cleaned and disinfected. Over a whole year MacNut Farms processes around 100 tonnes of nut in shell.
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Sorting, Cooking and Packaging
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The hard work starts once the kernel arrives on the conveyor belt. Here MacNuts' staff separate the kernel into different types (chips, halves, wholes) and sizes. They also discard any bad or immature kernel and shell pieces.
The kernel is sold as raw, roasted and salted, chocolate coated, honey coated, or MacNuts' special Kiwimac. (half macadamia and half kiwifruit in chocolate). The chocolate coating is done under contract for MacNuts and returned packaged.
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If you are out Helensville way, take a tip from MacNuts and taste their special large wholes in chocolate. Most manufacturers who buy from MacNuts ask for small whole kernel so they can give you minimum kernel and maximum chocolate (which is cheaper) - MacNuts give real value with maximum nut and enough chocolate - taste the difference!!
Another favourite variety is the roasted and salted nut, which is cooked on site. The bulk raw nut is lightly cooked in coconut oil in 2kg batches for 3 minutes, sprinkled with salt and excess salt and oil rubbed off to give a crisp and full flavoured product.
Each type is packed in bulk bins or boxes for shipment to MacNuts wholesale clients.
For MacNuts retail foil packs they carefully weigh and nitrogen purge to give you a long shelf life whether it be raw, salted or chocolate coated.
As you can see, MacNuts Farms takes special care when processing their products and goes the extra mile to ensure they bring out the very best nature has to offer in a Macadamia Nut.
If you would like further information about MacNuts Farms, please visit their website at http://www.macnut.co.nz.
The upshot is, at Pristine Gifts we believe in the products our suppliers offer and enjoy being in a position to bring their wonderful offerings to you.
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Where to from here?
More about MacNut Farms 
Our Product Guarantee
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