A research on suitability of some chestnut cultivars for candied chestnut

Abstract

Recently, an increasing concern on chestnut and chestnut cultivation has been showing again in Turkey. The nuts are consumed directly in roasted or boiled form or evaluated as value added products such as chestnut desserts and candied chestnut. In this research, the suitability to candied chestnut of some native chestnut cultivars, 'Haciomer', 'Sariaslama', 'Osmanoglu', 'Ali Molla' and the French hybrid cultivars 'Marigoule 15' and 'Maraval 74' has been studied. For this purpose moisture (%), protein (%), total sugar (%), starch (%), total carbohydrates (%), polyphenol oxidase activity, L-a-b color values of raw materials and candied chestnut were determined. Following results were obtained from the study. Seed composition of the cultivars were: 5.58-7.35 g/100 g protein; 15.24-22.11 g/100 g total sugars; 34.24-45.37 g/100 g starch; 58.18-66.21 g/100 g total carbohydrates (on the dry matter basis). The polyphenol oxidase activity of the cultivars were found between 442.54-1730.67 U/g. Additionally, peeling easiness of shell and seed pellicle, proportion of remnant of pellicle in the seed, and syrup absorption characters of the seeds were analyzed.

It was determined that 'Haciomer' is the most suitable cultivar if the autoclave method is used in candied chestnut production. Also, seeds of this cultivar took the second row in relation to syrup absorption rate with 44%. According to sensory analysis results, 'Ali Molla', 'Haciomer' and 'Osmanoglu' were the most preferred cultivars taking the highest points.