*2.8. E*ff*ects of Roasting and Blanching on Almond Health Lipid Indices*

With some exceptions, blanching similarly affected health lipid indices of all almond cultivars (Table 3). Casanova, Ferragnès, Glorieta, Molar, and Pegarinhos exhibited similar responses after roasting, in contrast to Refêgo. Besides Casanova and Glorieta in which increases were observed, there was a decrease in the content of SFA in almond cultivars after roasting. Furthermore, almond cultivars showed a decreasing trend in SFA content after blanching with the exception of Glorieta and Refêgo. The content of MUFA generally decreased in almond samples after roasting and blanching except for Refêgo after roasting; the inverse was true for the PUFA content. The most common responses observed after nut processing are increases in SFA [37,41,42] and decreases in PUFA and MUFA [37] levels. In the study by Valdés et al. (2015) [6], the contents of SFA and MUFA increased while that of PUFA decreased in almond after processing. In the present study, both increases and decreases were found in relation to the contents of SFA, MUFA, and PUFA. Beside the "cultivar" effect, these variations are most likely related to processing conditions and basal levels of all fatty acids, but also to the fact that minor fatty acids are not usually quantified by investigators.

Similar to the PUFA content, an increasing trend was observed in relation to the PUFA/MUFA ratio of all cultivar after processing with the exception of that of Refêgo after roasting. The lowest PUFA/MUFA value obtained after roasting was found for Refêgo. In the case of blanching, both Refêgo and Casanova achieved the lowest PUFA/MUFA. The above observation indicates that these cultivars are most likely to be less prone to oxidation after processing. After roasting, the UFA/SFA ratio increased in four cultivars (Ferragnès, Molar, Pegarinhos, and Refêgo) and decreased in two cultivars (Casanova and Glorieta). Both Casanova and Refêgo attained the lowest UFA/SFA values, as also observed with the PUFA/MUFA values. Blanching differentially affected the UFA/SFA ratio: The UFA/SFA ratio calculated for Refêgo and Glorieta decreased whereas an increase was recorded for Ferragnès and Molar. Casanova and Pegarinhos on the other hand showed no significant changes relative to the UFA/SFA ratio.

Health lipid indices were significantly affected by both processing treatments. The AI and TI values decreased or tended to decrease in all cultivars with the exception of Refêgo in which an increase was observed after roasting. The h/H ratio on the other hand generally increased after roasting and blanching although some exceptions were observed. For instance, a decrease in the h/H ratio was observed for Refêgo and Glorieta after roasting and blanching respectively. In roasted kernels, AI and TI values were similar for all cultivars with the exception of Refêgo which obtained high values. These high values of AI and TI observed for Refêgo can be associated with increased risks to cardiovascular problems; indeed, Refêgo exhibited the lowest h/H value after roasting. Overall, the highest h/H value was calculated for the oil extracted from roasted kernels of Pegarinhos.
