Articles
Hazelnut characteristics driving their usage in the confectionery industry
Article number
1379_78
Pages
539 – 543
Language
English
Abstract
Hazelnut quality is a multi-faceted issue which has paramount importance for many sectors of the confectionery market.
Beside those mandatory parameters related to the safety-of-use, the quality of a given cultivar is the combined result of location, harvest and postharvest management, and could be further affected by weather conditions and industrial processing steps.
Therefore, quality needs to be comprehensively and carefully evaluated, considering all the relevant factors driving hazelnut usage in the confectionery industry.
Organoleptic performance of the hazelnut is the key driver of its usage both for product development and for flavor characteristics perceived by the consumer in the finished product.
The focus is on the quantitative measure of specific positive (hazelnut, sweet) and negative (bitter, foreign notes, rancid) attributes which markedly contribute to drive hazelnut usage accordingly.
Moreover, it is important to monitor the development of some negative attributes, in particular rancidity, through the measure of oxidative stability, which is linked to management practices in in the field, postharvest handling, and storage conditions.
In addition to free fatty acid content or peroxide value, new chemical parameters, such as volatile aldehyde content, are used as a good, early indicator of the onset of rancidity.
Even proximate composition is important, not only for water content, which grants hazelnut stability in terms of microbiological contamination throughout the whole supply chain, but also, for example, total fat content, which is another driver for hazelnut usage and has a direct impact on processing.
Finally, some physical parameters are also useful to classify and rank hazelnut cultivars according to kernel caliber distribution, average kernel weight, roundness index, and peelability (ease of pellicle removal, blanchability). These parameters could directly exclude a given cultivar for a specific usage (e.g., kernels of oblong nuts are not suitable for use as whole kernels for specific applications).
Beside those mandatory parameters related to the safety-of-use, the quality of a given cultivar is the combined result of location, harvest and postharvest management, and could be further affected by weather conditions and industrial processing steps.
Therefore, quality needs to be comprehensively and carefully evaluated, considering all the relevant factors driving hazelnut usage in the confectionery industry.
Organoleptic performance of the hazelnut is the key driver of its usage both for product development and for flavor characteristics perceived by the consumer in the finished product.
The focus is on the quantitative measure of specific positive (hazelnut, sweet) and negative (bitter, foreign notes, rancid) attributes which markedly contribute to drive hazelnut usage accordingly.
Moreover, it is important to monitor the development of some negative attributes, in particular rancidity, through the measure of oxidative stability, which is linked to management practices in in the field, postharvest handling, and storage conditions.
In addition to free fatty acid content or peroxide value, new chemical parameters, such as volatile aldehyde content, are used as a good, early indicator of the onset of rancidity.
Even proximate composition is important, not only for water content, which grants hazelnut stability in terms of microbiological contamination throughout the whole supply chain, but also, for example, total fat content, which is another driver for hazelnut usage and has a direct impact on processing.
Finally, some physical parameters are also useful to classify and rank hazelnut cultivars according to kernel caliber distribution, average kernel weight, roundness index, and peelability (ease of pellicle removal, blanchability). These parameters could directly exclude a given cultivar for a specific usage (e.g., kernels of oblong nuts are not suitable for use as whole kernels for specific applications).
Publication
Authors
G. Castello, C. Casetta, I. Cincera, D. Gurarslan Ceran, G. Genova, N. Spigolon
Keywords
quality parameters, industrial usage, shelf-life, sensory analysis, postharvest
Groups involved
Online Articles (78)