Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts belong to the most important raw materials of confectionery industries. They can vary in quality differences depending upon cultivation area and climate conditions. Therefore quality control for these raw materials is of great importance as well as the development of suitable rapid control methods. Actually hazelnuts come from new cultivation areas on the market, but there is still a lack in knowlegde about their quality characteristics.

Some years ago hazelnuts from the traditional cultivation areas (Turkey, Italy, Spain) were examined intensively at the Fraunhofer IVV. New analytical methods were developed for the determination of shelf-life and technological properties of raw hazelnuts. Determining factors are enzymatic reactions in raw nuts and oxidative processes in the roasted material. Since short time hazelnuts from Germany are available in considerable quantity, however their characteristics are not yet examined. They should differ from imported hazelnuts due to the difference in climate conditions at the cultivation.