Abstract:
Roasting enhances the flavor of sweet almonds; however, the effects of roasting on the physicochemical properties and stability of sweet almond emulsion remain unclear. To address this, sweet almonds roasted at five different temperatures (120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 ℃) were used as raw materials to investigate the effects of roasting temperature on the composition (dry matter, total sugar, total protein, and soluble protein), physicochemical properties (color difference, browning degree, and free amino acid content), and stability (centrifugal sedimentation rate, zeta potential, and particle size) of sweet almond emulsions. The results showed that as the roasting temperature increased from 120 ℃ to 160 ℃, the contents of dry matter, total sugar, total protein, and soluble protein in the sweet almond emulsions decreased significantly (
P<0.05), and their centrifugal sedimentation rates and particle sizes increased, while their absolute zeta potential values decreased (
P<0.05). Specifically, compared to the sweet almond emulsion roasted at 120 ℃, dry matter, total sugar, total protein, and soluble protein content of the sweet almond emulsion roasted at 160 ℃ were reduced by 24.18%, 62.5%, 21.95%, and 81.92%, respectively, along with a 4.78% decrease in its absolute zeta potential value. In contrast, its centrifugal sedimentation rate and particle size increased by 49.62% and 236.75%, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and ultra-high-resolution microanalysis indicated that roasting induced a certain degree of sweet almond protein aggregation. Furthermore, as the roasting temperature increased from 120 ℃ to 160 ℃, the color difference and browning degree of the sweet almond emulsions increased, while the free amino acid content decreased significantly (
P<0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that the sweet almond emulsion roasted at 130 ℃ achieved the highest sensory scores, characterized by a uniform light brown color, a pronounced roasted almond aroma and flavor, and a homogeneous texture. This study confirmed that roasting temperature was a critical process parameter affecting the quality characteristics of sweet almond emulsion, offering foundational technical data for the development of novel almond-based beverages with unique flavor profiles.