Hazelnut quality and sensory evaluation in organic and conventional growing systems

Consumer acceptance of organic products requires the association of the productionsystem with directly perceivable quality attributes. Up to now, organically grown hazelnuts havebeen scarcely characterised for specific quality traits. Nuts of two Italian hazelnut cultivars,‘Tonda Gentile Romana’ and ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, grown in conventional and organic systems,were evaluated for technological traits, kernel chemical composition and sensory profile. Organicnuts showed a slightly lower oil and starch content, a lower incidence of total saturated fatty acidsand a higher content of oleic acid in comparison to conventional ones. Crude protein content inthe kernel was higher in organic nuts in ‘Tonda di Giffoni’. In both cultivars, the organic regimehas positively influenced the content of polyphenols in the kernel. Sensory evaluation revealeddifferences associated with the growing system for the attributes of colour and oiliness of roastedkernels. The organic samples were the most appreciated for both cultivars.