Peppers are significant crops frequently used in cooking or as spice. Numerous phytochemicals, including capsaicinoids, phenolics, and carotenoids are found in peppers. Capsaicinoids are responsible for the distinctively pungent flavor. A comparative study of the proximate, mineral, fatty acid composition, and phytochemical components of 15 types of pepper spices (1 Isot Pepper Flake, 4 Chili Powders, and 10 Chili Pepper Flakes) were investigated. Analysis of the proximate composition included moisture content (6.54-19.49%), ash content (6.53-22.48%) and acid insoluble ash content (0.41-1.12%). Total phenolic content ranged from 9.72 to 20.05 mg GAE g-1. The lowest and highest capsaicinoid content were found in S15 (10247.6 Scoville Heat Unit (SHU)) and S9 (38861.7 SHU) samples, respectively. Total carotenoid content ranged from 739.8–1941.7 mg kg-1. Phytochemical analyses revealed that these spices are high in phytonutrients such as carotenoid and capsaicinoid. Mineral elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, manganese, and sodium were also present in the spices, which are essential for human nutrition.

Crude sunflower oils are subjected to traditional refining process to eliminate undesirable components such as gums, free fatty acids and oxidative products. However, some desirable minor compounds are also removed or reduced during refining operations such as tocopherols and phenolic components. Approach to retain desirable minor components can include alternative refining ways that can both decrease refining steps and provide milder processing conditions. The overall objective of the study was to produce neutralized sunflower oil using Ca(OH)₂, MgO and Na₂SiO₃ as an alternative to strong alkali (NaOH) which is used in conventional neutralization and to optimize these alternative neutralization compounds by evaluating their effectiveness by response surface methodology. The estimated optimal parameters for neutralization of sunflower seed oil were Ca(OH)₂ at 0.30 %, 53.0 ^◦C and 19.7 minutes; MgO at 0.38 %, 57.6 ^◦C and 17.8 minutes; Na₂SiO₃ at 0.81 %, 55.7 ^◦C and 19.1 minutes.

Ciabatta is a classic Italian bread type that has become popular around the world in recent years. It is characterized by crisp crust, large and irregular crumb grain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the use of different amounts of olive oil on the sensory properties of ciabatta bread samples. To determine the best mixture of bread, different amounts of olive oil were used to produce ciabatta bread. The sensory properties of three different kinds of bread (type I, type II, type III) were investigated such as shape and symmetry, crust color and crumb color, stickiness, mouthfeel, taste and aroma and overall assessment. Ash, moisture and protein content were also analyzed. In this study, when the sensory properties of the ciabatta breads were examined, it was observed that the effects of different amounts of olive oil on shape and symmetry, crust color and crumb color, stickiness, mouthfeel, taste and aroma and overall assessment of all ciabatta breads were not found statistically important (p>0.05). It was also found that ash and protein content was not significantly affected (p>0.05).

Prunus armeniaca L. known as apricot, is one of the important export products of Turkey and its kernel oil has become widely popular in different fields such as food pharmacy, aromatherapy and cosmetics industry. Apricot oil obtained from the kernels of apricots is characterized by high contents of oil, fiber, various minerals, proteins, vitamins and phenolics with health-improving effects. The aim of this study was to compare the fatty acid composition and some quality properties of 10 different kinds of apricot kernel oils produced by the different brands. The lowest value of free fatty acid with 0.30 % was determined in the A5 sample. The antioxidant activity results of A1 brand apricot oil sample were found similar to A4 brand apricot oil (P>0.05). In the results of the total phenolic content was lowest in A5 sample with 101.17 mg GAE/100g. The results of the highest antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were determined in the sample A3. The common major fatty acids in the analyzed oil samples were determined as oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid and stearic acid. Oleic acid was determined as the main unsaturated fatty acid component for all oil types except the A1 sample.

Coconut oil has become popular as functional food as the consumer awareness is increasing. Snacks are preferred due to many health benefits. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the use of honey and coconut oil on the antioxidant, physicochemical and sensory properties of snack pastes. Snack paste containing honey-coconut oil (1:0) was coded Type A, containing honey-coconut oil (1:1) was coded Type B and containing honey-coconut oil (0:1) was coded Type C. This study was observed that there were no significant differences with respect to total phenolic content among snack pastes (P >0.05). Although the difference between A and B samples was statistically insignificant with respect to pH values (P >0.05), there were significant differences among snack pastes with respect to water activity and titratable acidity (P <0.05). It was concluded that snack paste containing coconut oil can be used as an alternative to snack paste containing honey.