Sesame seeds
Sesame seeds are flat, tiny, oval type seeds that have a nutty taste and an almost undetectable crunch. Its scientific name is ‘Sesamum indicum’. Some variants are seen and found in India while some in Africa (mainly Nigeria, Sudan & Ethiopia).
These seeds grow in pods and are cultivated from edible seeds. The seeds come in several varieties and colors like white, black, yellow and red.
Benefits
Sesame seeds have multiple benefits and applications all over the world.
Very healthy
Contains important minerals
Holds zinc which is beneficial for our bones
Lowers cholesterol levels
Rich in dietary proteins and fiber
Rich in niacin (a B-complex vitamin)
They have different uses depending on your location. It is used in cakes in Greece, sprinkled over burger buns, as sweets in many Indian and middle-eastern dishes, in Turkish delight etc.
Processing
The processing is done in three steps- ‘cleaning, dehulling & sorting’ wherein each process is done separately and in stages. But the full method is carried out in a Sesame Seed Plant.
Process 1 – Cleaning
This stage is a pre-cleaning process, designed to clean raw sesame seeds by removing impurities like dust particles. The machine has several devices to clean.
First, the seeds are sieved which then transfers to a spiral blending device that propels the seeds forward into grader & de-stoner (for stones, wood, metals etc.).
It has three discharge holes for sewage, impurities & clean seeds. This saves water, energy thereby encouraging continuous production. It’s trustworthy and efficient increasing utilization.
Process 2 – Dehulling
The dehulling process is of two types- ‘the wet and dry dehulling’. The dry method is not usual in industries as commercial plants want high output and quality. The wet dehulling gives exactly that.
Wet dehulling has 5 stages: soaking, dehulling, separation, cleaning and drying.
Soaking – the seeds sop up water and expand for peeling.
Dehulling – with soft friction and vertical alignment, the hull is removed.
Separation – done through classifier, gravity separator, the hull and seeds are separated depending on the separation theory of buoyancy.
Cleaning – the seeds are cleaned again with washers (washing and fine washing).
Drying – the product is then dried in a single chamber fluid bed where the seeds float in air (hot) and polishes by friction.
Process 3 – Sorting
Here there are three types of sorting namely Fine Sorting, Magnetic Sorting and Color Sorting done by a single sorter machine. The machine uses optical sensing to detect foreign materials.
Fine sorting – the seeds are fined and sorted based on size.
Magnetic Sorting – the fined seeds go through a magnetic charge to relieve of any final metallic impurities.
Color Sorting – finally, the sorter separates the impurities like stones, foreign grains.
The cleaning solutions add value to the product and its quality. After this process, the final step involved in the whole process is bagging. Now, there is a machine that bags the seeds as well.
After that the final product is packaged and ready for export. The demand is quite high as the benefits are too much.
