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I have stopped consuming any kind of dairy so I need substitutes for, among the rest, calcium. I've been advised to eat almonds, but I dislike the taste and texture of the raw ones. When I grabbed a bag of roasted almonds in the store, I saw no calcium in the contents. Do the roasted almonds(maybe with added salt or oil) lose the calcium value? Can I roast them by my self to keep the calcium?

liorblob
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Looking at the USDA database, roasting the almonds does not affect the calcium levels (comparing equivalent weights). Look at the value per 100g or value per ounce rather than volume-based values and you'll see what I mean.

Raw almonds average 269mg of calcium per 100g (or 76mg per ounce).

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3635

Dry roasted almonds average 268mg of calcium per 100g (also 76mg per ounce).

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3637

Chris Bergin
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  • What happens when salt and/or oil are added? – liorblob Jul 18 '16 at 21:48
  • @user6251216 They're the same, but with salt and oil. You're just adding things, you're not removing things from inside the nuts. The [same database](https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3725?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=almonds) says 291mg per 100g, not exactly the same, but clearly the calcium hasn't gone anywhere. – Cascabel Jul 18 '16 at 22:09
  • Then it's weird that all of the roasted almonds packs didn't have calcium in the content label. – liorblob Jul 18 '16 at 22:12
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    @user6251216 I don't know the exact regulations, but I believe that most vitamin and mineral content is voluntary on the labels. Manufacturers have some incentive to show things, since it may make the food appear more healthy to consumers, but they also have limited space so they basically *never* show everything. – Cascabel Jul 18 '16 at 22:14
  • @user6251216 I dug a bit further, and in the US, calcium is actually one of the current required nutrients to be listed. So... I'm guessing you're not in the US, and you'd have to look up local regulations if you really want to know any more, but presumably it's optional. – Cascabel Jul 18 '16 at 22:28
  • Yeah, I think my country follows the european standard. Anyway, I'll try roasting some almonds myself, see how it goes. – liorblob Jul 19 '16 at 06:29