Baby leaf lettuce is a flavorsome and particularly delicate alternative to conventional salad leaves. It comes in many different varieties and is therefore ideal for freshening up a salad mix with leaves in various shapes and sizes. Unlike heads of lettuce, preparing baby leaf lettuce for processing involves less work because the leaves do not have to be separated first. That said, the sensitive leaves of baby leaf lettuce have a low bulk density and therefore place high demands on the processing procedure.
To achieve an end product with appealing aesthetics and the longest possible shelf life, it is essential that the mechanical stress placed on the leaves is as low as possible during processing steps such as washing and drying. To avoid damage to the leaves, the low bulk density and consequently high spatial requirements of the product need to be considered. KRONEN offers a variety of machines that are not only tailored to meet the special demands of sensitive products such as baby leaf lettuce but also designed to save as much space and converse as many resources as possible.
Baby leaf lettuce is often used as an ingredient in salad mixes, in which different varieties of baby leaf lettuce are combined and packaged as a ready-to-eat product. When it comes to achieving a constant mix ratio when producing salad mixes, a weighing system can be used to add consistent quantities of the various products to the washing machines while ensuring a constant product flow.
The GEWA AF pre-washing machine and the GEWA XL helical washing machine, which can be perfectly connected in a processing line, gently and efficiently wash large quantities of baby leaf lettuce. The specially developed submergence system puts the product in an optimal underwater position for an effective start to the washing process. Both washing machines complement each other perfectly and combine the flotation washing technique with the helical washing system to achieve optimal washing results and a high capacity. Given that KRONEN is constantly advancing its washing systems, both machines take up less space and require low water quantities.
The K650 or K850 drying systems can be used for the drying process depending on the capacity required. The optimally coordinated and automated procedure enables the lettuce leaves to be gently spin-dried.
What’s more, the washing machines and drying systems can be optimally combined to form processing lines, thus ensuring a continuous processing procedure that produces consistently high-quality results.
