Proximate composition and kinectics drying of sweet pine nuts compared to typical nuts of Araucaria angustifolia

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the proximate composition and kinetics drying of sweet pine nuts compared to typical pine nuts of Araucaria angustifolia. This study is based on the proximate components, color, and duration of pine nuts drying of both types, and the influence of temperature and cutting geometry on the dehydration process. Sweet pine nuts had lower calorific value and carbohydrate content, but higher lipid, dietary fiber, protein, and ash contents when compared to typical pine nuts. Color of sweet pine nuts is light pink whereas the typical pine nut is yellowish-white. Sweet pine nuts were also softer. Drying kinetics of the seeds fit well into the logistic and Thompson models. To accelerate drying rates, we recommend slicing pine nuts into thin cross-sections and drying them at temperatures of 60 °C for typical pine nuts and 70 °C for sweet pine nuts.

Linking geographical origin with nutritional, mineral, and visual proprieties of pinhão (Araucaria angustifolia seed) from the south of Brazil

“…The pinhão is also a significant source of total dietary fiber, predominantly the insoluble type (between 2.15 and 5.10 times greater than that of the soluble fiber). The nutritional composition values of cooked pinhão almonds are close to those reported in the literature (Gil et al, 2021;Schveitzer et al, 2014;Silva et al, 2022). Only one study (Cordenunsi et al, 2004) has evaluated the total and resistant starch content of cooked pinhão almonds, and the values found are twice that of the present study.…”

“…Although the raw nut is not edible, it is softened and consumed after cooking by gellification of the starch, a nutrient that is presented in large content (de Siqueira et al., 2019), leading to a high energy value, but is able to maintain a low glycemic profile, a characteristic that is attributed to the presence of dietary fiber and resistant starch (Cordenunsi et al., 2004). The remaining nutrients, proteins, crude fiber, lipids, and minerals contribute to approximately 7% (wet basis) of its mass (Gil et al., 2021). This almond is also a source of healthy inorganic nutrients such as phosphorous (P), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), and chromium (Cr) (Barbosa et al., 2019).…”

“…The pinhão produced in the municipalities, participating in the current study, represented 1.63% of the entire Brazilian production (Bituruna/PR [BIT]: 0.57%, Caçador/SC [CAÇ]: 0.32%, Cruz Machado/PR [CM]: 0.56%, Lapa/PR [LAP]: 0.15%, São João do Triunfo/PR [SJT]: 0.03%) (IBGE, 2021). Pinhão has a high nutritional value (Barbosa et al, 2019;Cordenunsi et al, 2004;Gil et al, 2021), and the edible portion (almond) corresponds to 70% of its weight (Oliveira et al, 2015). Although the raw nut is not edible, it is softened and consumed after cooking by gellification of the starch, a nutrient that is presented in large content (de Siqueira et al, 2019), leading to a high energy value, but is able to maintain a low glycemic profile, a characteristic that is attributed to the presence of dietary fiber and resistant starch (Cordenunsi et al, 2004).…”

“…Pinhão has a high nutritional value (Barbosa et al., 2019; Cordenunsi et al., 2004; Gil et al., 2021), and the edible portion (almond) corresponds to 70% of its weight (Oliveira et al., 2015). Although the raw nut is not edible, it is softened and consumed after cooking by gellification of the starch, a nutrient that is presented in large content (de Siqueira et al., 2019), leading to a high energy value, but is able to maintain a low glycemic profile, a characteristic that is attributed to the presence of dietary fiber and resistant starch (Cordenunsi et al., 2004).…”