Effect of drying process on almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb) Kernel composition

In the present work the effects of the drying process on variation of the quality parametersof several almond cultivars were evaluated. The samples were collected in a field in theSouth of Italy and subsequently dried in a laboratory pilot dryer. Wide variations wereobserved in the free acidity content whereas no significant differences were investigated inpercentage lipid amounts. K, Mg and Ca proved the major minerals present in all almondseeds by analysis of minerals and of trace elements. The two-ways statistical analysisrevealed a general influence of the genetic characters and the drying process on fatty acidscontents in all almond oils. The investigation about these components revealed that MasBovera cv kernels were the high quality samples in terms of monounsaturated/polyunsaturatedacids ratio compared to the other varieties. A further study regarding the geneticsimilarities of almonds before and after treatment was conducted by cluster analysis. MasBovera and Glorieta oils were the least affected by the quality decay by heat application.