Cooking System

Raw Cashew Cooking System

Once RCN is washed and graded, it must be cooked within an hour to lock in shelling quality. The LOCUS cooking system automates washing, de-stoning, steam cooking and cooling in one PLC-controlled line, then hands cooked nuts off to the curing system for the rest period before shelling.

300–1200 kg/batch
<1 hr Wash-to-Cook Window
>95% Cooking Efficiency
Non-IBR Steam Piping
LOCUS raw cashew cooking system with control panel, overhead hopper and vertical bucket elevator
LOCUS RCN washing and de-stoning conveyor with bucket elevator
Washing & de-stoning conveyor removing stones and heavy metals before cooking
LOCUS raw cashew cooking system full production line installation
Complete cooking line: feed hopper, mixing/cooking tank, discharge conveyor and control panel
Why It Matters

Cooking within the hour is what protects the kernel

RCN that sits too long after washing starts to lose the moisture balance that makes shells crack cleanly. Automating the wash-to-cook handoff keeps every batch inside the window that gives the best shelling yield.

  • Water washing removes stones and heavy metals before the nuts reach the cooker
  • Vibro-mechanism and fan drying removes excess surface water ahead of cooking
  • Steam is supplied from the boiler through Non-IBR piping direct to the cooking vessel
  • PLC automation handles auto-cutoff weighing, pneumatic door operation and load-cell batch control end to end
  • Vibro-mechanism and fan cooling brings cooked RCN down to handling temperature before it moves to the curing system
  • Sized per project from 300 kg batch lines to 1,200 kg batch lines, depending upon the project capacity

Cooking system, by the numbers

300–1200 kg per cooking batch
>95% Cooking efficiency
<1 hr Wash-to-cook window
4–50 MT Project-scale line capacity
Machine Architecture

What's inside a LOCUS cooking & curing system?

A single automated line takes RCN from wash water to curing bin, sized per project from 300 kg batches up to 1,200 kg batches, depending upon the project capacity.

Water washing & de-stoning

Nuts pass through a water wash stage that eliminates stones and heavy metal contaminants before cooking.

Vertical bucket elevator

Washed RCN is lifted by bucket elevator into the overhead feed hopper above the cooking vessel.

Steam cooking vessel

Steam is piped from the boiler via Non-IBR piping into a fully automatic cooking chamber built for consistent, repeatable cook cycles.

Load-cell batch weighing

Auto-cutoff weighing and load-cell feedback keep every batch at the correct weight before the pneumatic doors seal for cooking.

Vibro-mechanism cooling

After cooking, a vibro-mechanism and fan bring RCN down to handling temperature before transfer to curing.

Continuous duty cycle

Built for repeated daily batches without downtime, keeping pace with intake from the grading line ahead of it.

Fully PLC-automated batches

Every step — weighing, door operation, steam cycle and cooling — runs under PLC control, keeping cook cycles repeatable batch after batch.

Project-scale installations

Cooking and curing systems are engineered per project, from 300 kg batch lines up to 1,200 kg batch lines, depending upon the project capacity.

Process

How the cooking & curing system works

  • 1

    Graded RCN is washed with water to eliminate stones and heavy metals, then excess water is removed by vibro-mechanism and fan.

  • 2

    A vertical bucket elevator lifts the washed nuts into the overhead hopper feeding the cooking vessel.

  • 3

    Load cells weigh each batch, pneumatic doors seal the chamber, and steam from the boiler cooks the RCN under full PLC automation.

  • 4

    Cooked RCN is cooled by vibro-mechanism and fan, then discharged to the curing system to rest before shelling.

Labeled diagram of LOCUS raw cashew cooking system showing water washing, fully automatic cooker and vibro-mechanism cooling stages

Five stages, one automated line

Feeding, mixing, washing, elevation and discharge run as one continuous sequence — raw material is fed into the hopper, mixed and washed in the tank, lifted by bucket elevator, then discharged clean to the next stage.

Model Range

Cooking system model range & specifications

Four standard batch sizes, plus fully custom-engineered lines for large-scale projects.

Specification 300 kg/batch 600 kg/batch 1,000 kg/batch 1,200 kg/batch
Batch capacity 300 kg 600 kg 1,000 kg 1,200 kg
Heat source Steam from boiler, delivered via Non-IBR piping
Wash-to-cook window Must cook within 1 hour of washing
Automation Fully PLC controlled: auto-cutoff weighing, pneumatic doors, load-cell batching
Cooking efficiency Over 95%
Project-scale lines Custom-engineered from 4 MT to 50 MT RCN processing capacity

The cooking system is typically supplied together with the raw cashew size sorting line upstream and the curing system and shelling & separating system downstream, as part of a complete RCN processing installation.

LOCUS engineering and service team
Support

24/7 Service & Support

From installation and commissioning to spare parts and troubleshooting, our engineering team supports your cooking and curing line throughout its working life — keeping cook cycles inside the window that protects your yield.

Talk To Our Engineers