**7. Volatile Compounds**

Seventeen aroma compounds were detected in raw almonds [133], including six aldehydes, two ketones, two nitrogen-containing compounds, one sulfur-containing compound, two acids, one furanone and three unknown compounds. Six of these compounds were quantitated in raw almonds, where vanillin with 830 ng/g was the most abundant and acetic acid (137 ng/g) and nonanal (72 ng/g) were found in high abundance.

Ojeda-Amador et al. [35] analyzed volatile compounds which are related to sensory notes, such as fruit/banana (hexanol), oily/green–swee<sup>t</sup> (hexanal), fruity (pentanol) and bitter almonds (benzaldehyde). The most important family found in all the varieties studied was that of aldehydes (1.35–7.52 mg/kg). Benzaldehyde was the main aldehyde (52–74% of total), followed by hexanal (0–10%).

Alcohols were the second major family, accounting for 14% to 30% of the total volatiles. Hexanol was the main contributor and was most abundant in "Marcona" (1.89 mg/kg). Acids (mainly acetic acid), hydrocarbons, ketones and terpenes showed close concentrations to each other, indicating about 0.30 mg/kg for each family.
