Does ‘activating’nuts affect nutrient bioavailability?.

Claims in the lay literature suggest soaking nuts enhances mineral bioavailability. Research on legumes and grains indicate soaking reduces phytate levels, however, there is no evidence to support or refute these claims for nuts. We assessed the effects of different soaking regimes on phytate and mineral concentrations of whole and chopped almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, and […]

Impact of thermal pretreatment on crystallization of Thompson raisins.

After prolonged storage or during the shipment of raisins, a crystalline material may be developed on their surface, affecting the final acceptability of the product. The mild thermal pretreatment (50 °C for a period of 12 h and 48 h) was applied to dissolve any potential tiny crystals and nuclei already present in the raisins. […]

Influence of different cooking methods on the nutritional and potentially harmful components of peanuts.

This study investigated the comparative effects of boiling, roasting, deep-frying methods on the content of nutritional and potentially harmful components in peanuts. After cooking, the contents of total reducing sugar, sucrose, unsaturated fatty acids and almost all individual amino acids were reduced. Free methionine disappeared after heating processing, whereas fructose, starch, cis-palmitoleic acid and saturated […]

Dietary Fibre Profiles of Turkish Tombul Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) and Hazelnut Skin.

Dietary fibre (DF) profiles of natural hazelnut, roasted hazelnut and hazelnut skin were analyzed. Insoluble (IDF) and soluble (SDF) DFs were examined for monosaccharide and glycosyl-linkage compositions using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Total DF contents of natural hazelnut, roasted hazelnut, and hazelnut skin were 17.8, 15.4, and 69.8%, respectively; majority of which (>96%) were water-insoluble. […]

Bioactives and health benefits of nuts and dried fruits.

Nuts and dried fruits have been part of the human diet since prehistoric times. They are nutrient-rich foods and constitute an excellent means to deliver health-promoting bioactive compounds. As such, they serve as important healthful snack items, besides being part of many traditional and new recipes of gastronomy worldwide. Frequent consumption of nuts and/or dried […]

Thermal processing of peanut impacts detection by current analytical techniques.

Recalls of spice containing products due to undeclared peanut have highlighted the importance of analytical methods in these foods. We examined the performance of peanut detection methods in cumin and garlic, focusing on quantitative ELISA. Although suitable for qualitative detection, accurate quantitation proved difficult. Roasting of peanut contaminants influenced ELISA results, with raw peanut over-detected […]

Crystallisation and glass transition behaviour of Chilean raisins in relation to their sugar compositions.

The effects of sugar component ratio, water fraction, and storage conditions on crystallisation and glass transition temperature (Tg) of three Chilean dried raisins were examined by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised light microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Thompson, Flame and Golden raisins differed in fructose:glucose and glucose:water ratios, impacting on their measured Tgs (P […]

Selection of universal peptide biomarkers for the detection of the allergen hazelnut in food trough a comprehensive, high resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) based approach.

The interest of using LC-MS/MS as a method for detection of allergens in food is growing. In such methods, peptides are used as biomarkers for the detection and quantification of the allergens. The selection of good biomarker peptides is of high importance to develop a specific, universal and sensitive method. Biomarkers should, for example, be […]