Abstract SCHIRACK, ANDRIANA VAIS. The Effect of Microwave ...

and Burma. The peanut prices in the Rotterdam market have been recognized as
the world reference price, and this has been tied to monthly estimates of peanut
production in America’s Southeast (Carley and Fletcher, 1995).
The United States produces approximately 10% of the world’s peanuts
(Sanders et al., 1993). Each year in the U.S., 700,000 hectares of peanuts are
harvested, with each hectare producing approximately 2.8 tons (Smith et al., 1995).
The U.S. peanut industry relies on an extensive price support and production quota
system (Carley and Fletcher, 1995). Peanuts are grown in the Southeast (Alabama,
Florida, Georgia), Southwest (Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico), as well as in
Virginia and North Carolina (Smith et al., 1995). There are four major market types
of peanuts in the U.S.: runner, virginia, valencia, and spanish (Sanders et al., 1993).
The most important use of world peanut production remains the crushing of
peanuts for oil and meal (Carley and Fletcher, 1995). The oil is used for cooking
and as a salad oil, while the defatted meal is processed into high protein
concentrates and isolates. In comparison, a large percentage of peanuts in the
United States is used for peanut butter and in confections. Alternative uses for
peanut protein have been explored for applications such as fermented milk and
yogurt systems, soup bases, nonfermented cheese analogs, meat product
ingredients, breads and snack products, and the replacement of casein in extended
milk products (McWatters and Cherry, 1982).
Harvesting
Harvesting includes the removal of peanuts from the ground, and separating
the nuts from soil and vines. Further steps include drying the peanuts from 35-40%
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