Hazelnuts were dried in
hot air oven at 35±2oC for 24 h and were then manually
cracked and shelled. The skin of the nuts was separated
after soaking in water overnight with removal by hand.
After skin removal, kernels were mixed with cheese whey
(Agriculture and Natural Resources College of Tehran
University) as a lactose source at a ratio of 1:20 (w/v), then ground for 5 min using a house blender (643 MX mill;
Moulinex, Spain). The resultant slurry was filtered through
double-layered cheesecloth to achieve clear hazelnut milk
(HM), which was placed in containers and pasteurized at
70oC for 15 min using a water bath