Preparation and protein-fortification of date bars

ABSTRACT

To increase the utilization and tile nutritional value of the fruis, of Hayani date cultivar the most dominant among date cultivars grown in the north eastern sector of Egypt, the fruits were minced, dried and formulated into date bars. Also, the prepared bars were fortified using casein, skim milk powder, sesame, soybean and chickpea flours [3, 5, 7 and 10% of total weight]. The prepared date bars were evaluated for colour, texture, yield and protein content. Sensory properties of the products were also evaluated and compared to the unfortified plain bars. In addition, the proximate composition, the mineral content and the amino acids profile of the fortified [5%] bars were carried out. Data obtained indicated that the prepared plain date bars and the bars fortified to 5% level were organoleptically acceptable. Meanwhile, coating the bars fortified with higher Ievels [7-10%] of the additives with chocolate increased the overall acceptability of the product. The data also revealed that fortification, as expected increased the protein content [from 3.5 to 12.2%] while slight changes in texture and colour of the fortified product were noted. In addition, proximate composition varied according to the fortification source. Total and reducing sugars and crude fibers were slightly decreased, while the ash content was relatively increased. All amino acids including the essential ones were considerably increased in the fortified bars with casein or skim milk powder. These findings indicate that the Hayani dates can be processed into acceptable date bars with improved nutritional profile by fortification using casein, skim milk, soybean or chickpea flour. The application of this process may increase the utilization of Hayani date fruits, which have low eating quality in the fresh unprocessed form, and provide the consumer with date products of high nutritional value