English 
Zhengfeng Road, Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province,China
Author: Tindo Machinery Publish Time: 2025-11-06 Origin: https://www.tindotech.com/
By Kevin, Global Sales Manager at Tindo Machinery
"Kevin, I'm roasting everything at 150°C for 20 minutes. My peanuts look great, but my cashews are coming out like little black rocks. What am I doing wrong?"
That was Jim from Phoenix last week. Same conversation I've had probably fifty times this year. Everyone thinks nuts are nuts, right? Just throw them in the roaster and crank up the heat.
Wrong. So wrong it hurts.
I learned this lesson the hard way back in 2014. Had a customer in Miami who bought one of our drum roasters. Three weeks later, he's screaming at me over the phone. His cashews were garbage, his almonds were either raw or charcoal, and he was ready to ship the whole machine back.
Turns out he was treating every nut the same. Like trying to grill a hamburger and a piece of fish with identical settings. Doesn't work.
If you're new to commercial roasting, start with peanuts. They're basically the golden retrievers of the nut world - friendly, forgiving, hard to screw up completely.
Here's what works:Around 150°C, maybe 140-160°C depending on your batch size. Time-wise, you're looking at 15-25 minutes in most drum roasters.
Why they're so forgiving:High oil content. Those oils heat up and protect the nut from burning too quickly. Plus, they give you that rich, nutty flavor everyone loves.
How to tell when they're done:Color is everything. You want that golden-brown look. Not tan, not dark brown - golden. Your nose will tell you too. When that smell hits you and makes you hungry, you're probably close.
My buddy in Alabama says he listens for the sizzling to quiet down. Then he checks color. Works every time.
Almonds fool people. They look sturdy, but they're actually pretty finicky. Less oil than peanuts means less protection from heat.
Temperature range:130-150°C. Start at the low end and work your way up. Every roaster is different.
Time considerations:12-20 minutes, but it depends on whether you're using blanched almonds or ones with skins. Blanched roast faster because there's no skin barrier.
The skin question:Some folks blanch first to remove skins, others roast with skins on. Both work, but you need different settings. Skin-on almonds take longer and need more babying.
What you're looking for:Light golden color, crunchy bite. If they're getting brown, you've gone too far. Almonds don't give you much warning before they cross the line from perfect to ruined.
Cashews will teach you respect real fast. They're delicate, they're expensive, and they'll turn into expensive charcoal if you're not careful.
Go low and slow:120-140°C maximum. I don't care if you're in a hurry. Rush cashews and you'll be throwing money in the dumpster.
Watch the clock:8-15 minutes, and you better be paying attention. The difference between perfect and ruined can be two minutes.
Why they're so unforgiving:Lower oil content means no safety net. They don't have that protective oil layer that helps peanuts cruise through the roasting process.
Had a customer in California losing 30% of his cashews to over-roasting. We dropped his temperature 20 degrees and cut his time by 5 minutes. Now he's hitting 95% good product. That's the difference proper parameters make.
Hazelnuts are flavor bombs when you do them right. They can handle more heat than cashews but still need respect.
Temperature sweet spot:140-160°C works for most operations. More forgiving than cashews, less forgiving than peanuts.
The skin deal:Most people roast first, then rub the skins off while they're still warm. Easier that way, and you get better flavor development.
Timing:10-18 minutes depending on your setup. You want rich brown color and that intense hazelnut smell.
A guy in Oregon taught me this trick - when the skins start cracking and pulling away, you're getting close. That's your cue to start watching like a hawk.
Pistachios are usually roasted in-shell, which changes the whole game. That shell acts like a little oven around each nut.
Temperature range:130-150°C. The shells protect the nuts, so you can be a bit more aggressive than with naked cashews.
Time frame:10-15 minutes typically. The shells will open up more as they heat, which is actually what you want.
If you're doing salted:Salt affects heat transfer. Salted pistachios often need a few extra minutes compared to plain ones.
What good ones look like:Shells should be more open than when you started, but the nuts inside should still be that nice green color. Brown pistachios are over-roasted pistachios.
Everyone wants to do mixed nuts. Customers love them, they're profitable, but they're a pain to roast properly.
The problem:Cashews want 130°C for 10 minutes. Peanuts want 150°C for 20 minutes. Physics doesn't care what you want.
What most people do:Compromise on settings that work okay for everything. Usually means going with whatever works for the most delicate nut in the mix.
Better solution:If you've got the volume, roast separately and mix afterward. More work, but way better results.
Had a customer in Texas doing mixed nuts - cashews, almonds, peanuts. Getting complaints about burnt cashews and raw peanuts in the same bag. We set him up to roast separately, then blend. Complaints dropped to almost nothing.
Every operation is different. Your nut roasting machine, your facility, your nuts, even your local humidity - it all matters.
Start with our recommendations:Use them as a baseline, then adjust based on what you're seeing. Small changes - 5-10 degrees, 2-3 minutes at a time.
Keep notes:Write down what works. Temperature, time, batch size, how they turned out. Trust me, you'll forget otherwise.
Common screwups:Trying to speed things up with higher heat. Doesn't work. You just get uneven roasting and burnt nuts.
Why our equipment helps:Our drum roasters give you precise temperature control and even heat distribution. When you're working with tight parameters, consistency matters.
Different nuts need different treatment. Anyone who tells you otherwise hasn't been doing this very long.
My advice:Pick one nut and get really good at it before moving on. Master peanuts, then try almonds, then work up to the tricky ones.
Invest in decent equipment:You can't hit precise temperatures with junk equipment. Our roasting systems give you the control you need to get consistent results.
Don't rush the learning curve:It takes time to dial in your parameters. But once you get them right, you'll be cranking out perfect nuts day after day.
Need help getting your roasting dialed in? Check out now or contact us. We'll help you figure out what works for your specific setup.
Because life's too short for burnt cashews.
Kevin has been helping people not burn their nuts since 2008. Tindo builds roasting equipment that gives you the control you need to get it right every time.
