Effect of raw wheat germ addition on the physical texture and objective color of a designer food (pan bread).

Pan bread formulations based on raw wheat germ, vital wheat gluten, and enzyme-active soybean flour were optimized with the objective of developing a phytochemical-enriched designer food product with superior nutritional and sensory qualities. The objective texture values (measured as compression force, g) indicated that the test bread with 10% wheat germ addition was comparable (299.9 g) to the control (210.1 g), but the compression force was significantly higher (415.4 g) at 20% wheat germ level. With 0.5% sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (SSL), 30 ppm potassium bromate and 50 ppm ascorbic acid, the test breads with 10 and 20% wheat germ had compression force values of 313.8 g and 367.7 g, respectively. Comparing the CIE L*a* values, the test bread samples having up to 20% wheat germ were slightly darker in crumb color than the white flour control bread, but were significantly lighter than the whole wheat flour bread. However, the addition of wheat germ increased the yellow color of bread crumb as indicated by the higher b* values of 11.4, 16.4 and 21.4, for control, 10% and 20% wheat germ breads, respectively. The physical texture and objective color measurements can be used in evaluating the quality of a phytochemical-enriched designer food (pan bread). It can be concluded that wheat germ-enriched bread can be prepared by using white flour, 20% raw wheat germ, 0.5% SSL, 30 ppm potassium bromate and 50 ppm ascorbic acid to provide consumers with a functional food.

Physicochemical characteristics of five date fruit cultivars grown in the United Arab Emirates.

The physical measurements and chemical analyses of date fruits of five cultivars grown in the United Arab Emirates were measured in this study. Due to differences in seed weight, the flesh accounted for 83-92% of the total fruit. At the tamr stage, the absence of sucrose and the presence of higher concentrations of reducing sugars, especially fructose and glucose, characterized these cultivars as the soft type. On maturation from the kimri to the tamr stage, the sugar content had increased, but other constituents like moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash, crude fiber, tannins, and pectin had decreased.

Date bars fortified with almonds, sesame seeds, oat flakes and skim milk powder.

Fortified date bars were prepared from some of the commonly grown date cultivars in the United Arab Emirates. The average ash, fat and protein contents in the control date bar sample were 1.78, 6.09 and 7.83%, respectively. The ash and protein contents increased, but the fat content decreased slightly with the inclusion of skim milk powder in the remaining date bar formulations. All the date bar samples were found to be free from Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms. Date fruit, which usually supplies only calories, can thus be turned into a product having significant amounts of other valuable nutrients.