Effect of the Variety and Processing Method on the Productivity and Quality of Date Molasses

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of date cultivar and processing technique on the chemical composition, qualitative attributes, and quantitative characteristics of date molasses. Two Iraqi date varieties, namely Al-Zuhdi and Al-Khastawi, were chosen during the date stage to produce date molasses using three established methods: the Madabis method, the foundry method (hot water) and the modern mechanical method (synergistic). The results of the comparison of the physical characteristics of the fruits of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) between the two cultivars Zahdi and Khastawi showed that the fruits of the Khastawi variety were superior to the Zahdi variety in weight, length, diameter, size, and weight of the fleshy part. Significant differences were also recorded in the chemical properties of the dates used in the study, as the Zuhdi variety recorded the highest percentage of ash, protein, fat and total acidity, while the Khastawi variety recorded the highest percentage of total sugars. The results showed that there were significant differences between the studied molasses samples in terms of production, as the sample (Khastawi W3) of molasses produced by the synergistic method recorded the highest production rate of date molasses (643.7) g / kg of dates, with a slight difference from the closest value recorded by the same manufacturing method for the Zahdi variety (591.3). g/kg). As for the biological test for the microbial molasses content of bacteria and molds, the molasses manufactured by three methods and for the two varieties under study met the limits of microbiological safety, under normal storage conditions at room temperature even after 90 days without recording any microbiological infection. All samples of molasses were accepted with a very good degree in the sensory evaluation of the qualities of texture, smell, taste and color, while the Zahdi variety by the traditional cold pressing method (Madabis) scored the best final acceptance score.