Hidden Valley Plantations continues to investigate many areas of cultural practices with the aim of reducing these costs and increasing yields per hectare. Macadamias Hidden Valley Plantations started processing Macadamias in 1978. We started chocolate coating products in 1981 and now make a variety of products from small packets of chocolates to large cartons of bulk kernel. If they are dried too fast, or with too high temperatures, their roasting quality can be detrimentally affected. If they are not dried to a low enough moisture content they will have a poor shelf life.
Macadamias have a delicate kernel inside a very hard shell.
This makes them difficult to crack without damaging the kernel. The cracker must break the shell, without going too far. To do this, some processors size the nuts first and then crack each size separately, while others use crackers that do not require sizing. There are advantages in both methods. After cracking the shells must be separated from the kernels.