EFFECT OF SHORT-TERM STORAGE ON WALNUT FRUIT QUALITY

Two Hungarian and two introduced walnut cultivars were examined as fresh samples and under storage. Some important compositional data were determined in order to evaluate the differences between the cultivars and the changes after storage. The cultivars’ oil contents were the same, but there was some difference in fatty acid composition; ‘Alsoszentivani 117’ had a higher mono-unsaturated fatty acid content than the others. Considering the oxidative stability, ‘Alsoszentivani 117’ contained good properties in all stages (induction time equals or higher than 10 h). Lower antioxidant capacity was measured in ‘Chandler’ samples compared to the others. ‘Alsoszentivani 117’ has higher α- and γ-tocopherol contents than the other cultivars studied. Two different drying methods were also compared in case of the Hungarian cultivars. The changes in compositional data showed no tendencies. We found that Hungarian cultivars were at least as valuable as the introduced ones.