The end of the Summer Season signifies an important phase of the almond’s lifecycle - Harvest. Occurring from February to March, this is a time of year where meticulous care is taken to ensure the fruit is properly collected off the trees, prepared and stored before our Dormancy season come May.
At Mandolé Orchard, the Harvest Season represents a special moment in time where we come together as a team and reflect upon the beauty of growth and how it is this growth that allows us to provide our community with a unique offering of fresh, sustainable, honest and nutritious products that carry our signature Mandolé flavour you won't find anywhere else.
The Mandolé Orchard 6 Step Harvest
Step 1: Shaking
Utilising custom machinery, a machine called a shaker visits every almond tree, clamps onto the trunk, and shakes the almonds off the branches, creating a blanket of almonds on the orchard floor.
Step 2 - Sweeping
Bringing the produce together. The sweeping process is driven by a large machine which gathers the nuts into the centre of the orchard row for collection.
Step 3 - Conditioning
All residual sticks and leaves are removed from the swept almonds to allow them to dry prior to being collected.
Step 4 - Harvesting
Once dry and ready, the harvest commences. All the almonds are collected by the harvester and unloaded into a number of runners that then transport the nuts out of the orchard.
Step 5 - Unloading
The almonds are then unloaded into an elevator within the orchard which are then transported by truck to our storage shed.
Step 6 - Stock piling
The final step of the process. The almonds are unloaded into our shed for storage and are later transported to our processor where the hulls and shells are removed.
This is harvest in a nutshell!
Sweet Potato Bake
To celebrate the turn of the season, staying in and nourishing your body and soul with comfort food, we bring you Tootie’s Sweet Potato Bake. This recipe is a perfect blend of sweet and savoury, combining sweet potato with a delicious sauce made of Mandolé Unsweetened Almond Milk, ricotta and nutmeg. This is the ultimate comfort meal, and it’s sure to be a family favourite as we move into the cooler months.
