Determination of some physicomechanical and biochemical parameters of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars

Hazelnut is one of the most popular nuts consumed by people; it has different cultivars in Turkey. The aim of the current study was to characterize some physicomechanical characteristics, shape features, color, and biochemical properties of 6 standard and 3 local hazelnut cultivars grown in Turkey. The shape and size properties of the samples were determined using image processing techniques as an alternative to conventional measurement methods. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify the hazelnut samples in terms of the biochemical parameters of the hazelnut cultivars. According to the findings, the highest crude oil (63.25%) and lowest protein contents (13.63%) were observed in the Kalmkara cultivar. Oleic and linoleic acids were the major fatty acids for all hazelnut samples. While local Devedisi and standard cakildak cultivars had the highest oleic acid levels, the highest linoleic acid level was observed for the Dag findigt cultivar. The cultivars of Fosa had the highest Zn and Mn, while the highest Cu was found in the Tombul cultivar. The greatest surface and projected areas were calculated for the Kara findik and Dag findigi samples, while the greatest hardness value was measured for the Devedisi cultivar. PCA revealed some positive and negative correlations between the physicomechanical and biochemical parameters. The present analyses revealed significant correlations between hardness and internal shell b* values and between Cu content and internal L*. Such correlations should be taken into consideration in food processing applications and machine design for these hazelnut cultivars.