Development of a Date Confectionery: Part 1. Relating Formulation to Instrumental Texture

Figures & data

Table 1 The composition of the date candy standardized at 1000 g of dry dates.

Ingredients	Amounts
Paste:
Dry dates, pitted (g)	1000
Butter, melted (ml) ^a	66.70
Water (ml)	27.83
Cashew nuts, fine powder (g) ^b	83.30
Pistachios, fine powder (g) ^c	66.70
Coconuts, fine powder (g) ^d	66.70
Almonds, fine powder (g) ^e	66.70
Cinnamon, fine powder (g) ^f	1.25
Cardamon, fine powder (g) ^g	1.25
Rose water (ml) ^h	6.70
Coating:
Coconuts, powder (g)	120

Table 2 The three stages of the development of the date candy.

Stage	Ingredients	wt	wt (%)	Dates : Other Ingredients
1	Rose water	6.70 ml	0.67	96.55 : 3.45
	Water	27.83 ml	2.78
	Date paste	1000 g	96.55
2	Rose water	6.70 ml	0.67	89.88 : 10.12
	Water	27.83 ml	2.78
	Melted butter	66.70 ml	6.67
	Date paste	1000 g	89.88
3	Rose water	6.70 ml	0.48	72.09 : 27.91
	Water	27.83 ml	2.01
	Melted butter	66.70 ml	4.81
	Coconuts	66.70 g	4.81
	Almonds	66.70 g	4.81
	Pistachios	66.70 g	4.81
	Cardamon	1.25 g	0.09
	Cashew nuts	83.3 g	6.01
	Cinnamon	1.25 g	0.09
	Date paste	1000 g	72.09

Table 3 Chemical and nutritional composition of Khalas, Umesilla and a commercial date candy standardized at 100 g.

	Khalas candy				Umesilla candy
	Uncooked		Cooked		Uncooked		Cooked		Commercial product
Final product constituents	d.b* ± SD ^a	w.b** ± SD ^a	d.b* ± SD ^a	w.b** ± SD ^a	d.b* ± SD ^a	w.b** ± SD ^a	d.b* ± SD ^a	w.b** ± SD ^a	d.b* ± SD ^a	w.b** ± SD ^a
Gross Energy (kcal)	479.90 ± 0.07	404.43 ± 0.06	476.87 ± 0.05	421.28 ± 0.04	446.09 ± 0.06	376.55 ± 0.05	450.24 ± 0.18	387.71 ± 0.16	438.04 ± 0.05	413.99 ± 0.03
Moisture (g)	15.73 ± 0.31	—	11.69 ± 1.38	—	15.59 ± 0.26	—	13.89 ± .0.13	—	5.49 ± 0.48	—
Ash (g)	1.62 ± 0.03	—	1.75 ± 0.09	—	2.97 ± 0.03	—	3.02 ± 0.07	—	1.97 ± 0.07	—
Fat (g)	1.60 ± 0.67	1.35 ± 0.56	1.53 ± 0.93	1.36 ± 0.82	2.11 ± 0.58	1.78 ± 0.49	1.75 ± 0.15	1.51 ± 0.13	2.91 ± 0.38	2.75 ± 0.35
Protein (g)	5.99 ± 0.12	5.05 ± 0.10	5.34 ± 0.11	4.72 ± 0.90	6.93 ± 0.22	5.85 ± 0.18	6.61 ± 0.13	5.69 ± 0.99	3.32 ± 0.75	3.14 ± 0.71
Fiber (g)	7.10 ± 0.58	5.98 ± 0.50	7.08 ± 0.90	6.26 ± 0.80	6.96 ± 0.85	5.87 ± 0.47	6.58 ± 0.83	5.66 ± 0.43	19.96 ± 0.83	19.59 ± 0.80
Total Carbohydrates (g)	67.96	—	72.61	—	66.60	—	68.19	—	66.35	—

Table 4 The major minerals of Khalas and Umesilla date candies.

Date candy		Ca ± SD ^a	Mg ± SD ^a	K ± SD ^a	Na ± SD ^a	Pb ± SD ^a
Khalas	uncooked	7.63 ± 0.42	10.21 ± 0.80	58.68 ± 0.28	4.68 ± 0.67	0.05 ± 0.20
	cooked	7.72 ± 0.94	10.83 ± 0.81	60.50 ± 2.37	11.87 ± 0.35	0.07 ± 0.05
Umesilla	uncooked	11.40 ± 0.85	10.76 ± 0.72	69.84 ± 1.15	3.514 ± 0.55	0.08 ± 0.02
	cooked	16.41 ± 0.16	11.35 ± 0.87	72.54 ± 1.56	3.612 ± 0.84	0.10 ± 0.07
All units are in ppm.
all samples were done in triplicates.

Table 5 The trace minerals of Khalas and Umesilla date candies.

Date candy		Zn ± SD^a	Ni ± SD^a	Mn ± SD^a	Cr ± SD^a	Al ± SD^a	Ba ± SD^a	Fe ± SD^a	Cu ± SD^a	Cd ± SD^a	As ± SD^a	Se
Khalas	Uncooked	0.26 ± 0.04	0.03 ± 0.01	0.12 ± 0.10	0.03 ± 0.01	0.36 ± 0.09	0.09 ± 0.06	0.44 ± 0.29	0.07 ± 0.02	0.0024 ± 0.001	ND	ND
	Cooked	0.27 ± 0.10	0.04 ± 0.01	0.10 ± 0.03	0.03 ± 0.01	0.49 ± 0.28	0.05 ± 0.01	0.47 ± 0.31	0.05 ± 0.04	0.002 ± 0.001	0.01 ± 0.01	ND
Umesilla	Uncooked	0.19 ± 0.05	0.04 ± 0.01	0.07 ± 0.02	0.03 ± 0.01	0.49 ± 0.14	0.04 ± 0.01	0.24 ± 0.06	0.05 ± 0.01	0.002 ± 0.001	ND	ND
	Cooked	0.22 ± 0.12	0.05 ± 0.01	0.09 ± 0.03	0.03 ± 0.01	0.53 ± 0.19	0.03 ± 0.01	0.21 ± 0.08	0.05 ± 0.02	ND	ND	ND
All units are in ppm.
ND: Not Detected.
All samples were done in triplicates.

Figure 1 Stress-strain profile of the cooked Khalas date candy at stages 1, 2 and 3 of formulation following compression at 5° C (compression rate = 0.1 mm/s).

Figure 2 Stress-strain profile of the cooked Khalas date candy at stages 1, 2, and 3 of formulation following compression at 23° C (compression rate = 0.1 mm/s).

Figure 3 Stress-strain profile of a commercial date candy compressed at ambient temperature (23° C) and containing pistachios (1) or coconuts (2) (compression rate = 0.1 mm/s).

Figure 4 Effect of aging at ambient temperature on the brittleness of the (□) uncooked Khalas, (⋄) cooked Khalas, (▵) uncooked Umesilla, and (○) cooked Umesilla date candies.