Research Article
Tehseen Yaseen, Salim-ur-Rehma
Abstract
Background: Dates, because of their rich nutritional value can be used to develop muffins as value added product with partial replacement of sucrose with date syrup. The objective of this study was to develop high fiber containing product utilizing date syrup and wheat bran as recommended level of fiber is low in our diets. Method: 7 treatments of date bran muffins for varying concentration of date syrup i.e. 30, 40 and 50% were used with varying amount of wheat bran from 2.5 to 5% by keeping other ingredients constant. These muffins were analyzed for shelf life stability at ambient storage condition for 4 days. Nutritional analysis (moisture, ash, fat, protein, fiber and carbohydrate) was done along with mineral and sensory evaluation. Results and Conclusions: Sensory evaluation revealed that T5 (2.5% wheat bran + 50% Date syrup) was best among all treatments. The sensory score of muffins was reduced with the passage of time. Date bran muffins contained 30.3-31.3% moisture, 0.96-1.61% ash, 26.7-27.4% crude fat, 1.3-5.6% crude fiber, 11.4-13% crude protein and 93-20.9% carbohydrate. Increasing concentrations of date syrup in date muffins caused an increasing level of protein, fiber, higher softness and more color development while calorific value decreased by increasing the amount of date syrup.