INFLUENCE OF PREPROCESSING - STORAGE-CONDITIONS ON PEELED ALMOND QUALITY

The study was carried out to determine the effect of storage condition s (in-shell, shelled, storage time and temperature) before peeling and packaging on the quality of peeled ''Supernova'' almonds. The influen ce of the storage temperature after packaging was also determined. Fro m the results of the chemical analyses carried out on the lipid fracti on (peroxide value, FAMEs, spectrophotometric characteristics, tocophe rols), and of the physical characteristics (texture, colour) and senso ry measurements, it was determined that high quality peeled almonds ca n be obtained either with nuts processed immediately after harvesting, or with in-shell almonds stored for four months at ambient temperatur e (18 degrees-25 degrees C) or with shelled almonds stored in cold con ditions (2 degrees C) for up to eight months before processing. Moreov er, in order to have high quality almonds up to 12 months, it is best to store peeled nuts at 2 degrees C.