In order to enhance the flavor, texture, color, and appearance of hazelnuts, they are roasted during postharvest processing. In this study, raw hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) were roasted using microwave (MW) and MW-assisted hot air methods under various roasting conditions. The hazelnuts roasted were then examined to determine the percent DPPH radical scavenging activity, antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, resistant starch, non-resistant starch, total starch, and protein concentration. The roasting experiments were done using a completely randomized factorial arrangement of two roasting types by three roasting times (9, 15, and 21 min) by three roasting temperatures (70, 90, and 110°C) using three replications within each experiment. These roasting methods were found to yield significant differences in antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, resistant starch, non-resistant starch, and protein concentration between MW and MW-assisted hot air roasting processes, while no difference was found in percent DPPH radical scavenging activity and total starch. The results obtained may be of great importance to the food research community and industrial hazelnut roasting technologies.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; microwave roasting; microwave-assisted hot air roasting; protein concentration; resistant starch.