Here in the Midwest, it’s getting to be prime gardening season.  Some vegetables are just starting to sprout up, others are finally getting almost ready to harvest.  A prime summer vegetable that many of you probably have in your garden is tomatoes.  Nothing beats a perfectly ripe, fresh-picked from the vine tomato on a bed of crisp iceberg lettuce with Italian dressing on top.

But for those of you who dont have a green thumb, you can still enjoy this fresh-picked taste of the tomatoes from your local grocery store, thanks to a popular tomato harvester in Florida who contacted me last week.  They have several huge tomato fields where all the perfectly ripe tomatoes are hand picked, washed, packaged, then sent to grocers around the country. 

But, to prevent the tomatoes from getting mushy in the packaging, they need to sufficiently dry them before they are packaged.  That’s where we come in.  The tomatoes are spread across a 5ft wide conveyor as they travel through the washing station.  So, I recommended our model 110260SS 60″ Stainless Steel Super Air Knife Kit.  We have actually recommended our Super Air Knife for this very application in the past.  See photo below.

This kit will give them everything they need to set up a complete drying station.  The air knife will span the entire width of the conveyor.  The filter will ensure that no dirt, water, or other contaminants are sprayed onto the tomatoes.  The regulator will provide the ability to adjust the pressure to just the right level to sufficiently dry the tomatoes without being so strong as to potentially damage their sensitive skin. 

The Super Air Knife is made of full Stainless Steel construction, so it is suitable for the food-grade environment.  The even curtain of air will ensure that the tomatoes are perfectly dry, to preserve that fresh, just-picked-from-the-vine taste when you open the package at home. 

Emily Mortimer
Application Engineer
emilymortimer@exair.com