Oleosomes in Almonds and Hazelnuts: Structural Investigations by NMR

Oleosomes are lipid-containing organelles in which oils and fats are stored in plant tissue such as almond or hazelnut. A comprehensive and detailed understanding and measurement of their size and distribution is needed to capture the physical properties of almond or hazelnut containing foods and improve their quality. During processing, almonds and hazelnuts are blanched or roasted and crushed leading to structural changes in their tissues. Mush contains quasi-free oil in addition. Pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance is applied to determine the size distribution of the oleosomes and to monitor the structural changes along the process chain. A model established for droplet size determination in emulsions was applied and extended for the present case.