Abstract
This study investigated the nutritional, microbial, and sensory quality attributes of a fermented milk (laban) drink flavored with date syrup (dibs) during cold storage at 4 °C for 7 days. Date syrup was added to laban in specific proportions (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15% date syrup/total weight of flavored laban) and an appropriate percentage (12.5%, 74 °Bx) was selected based on the sensory preference of panelists. The results indicate that flavoring laban with date syrup affected the physicochemical, nutritional, microbial, and sensory quality attributes of the product in different ways. Incorporation of date syrup in fresh laban drink significantly increased the pH, ash, protein, total solids, sugars, and magnesium (p < 0.05). However, acidity, fat, casein, lactose, calcium, total microbial count, and total yeast and molds count were decreased (p < 0.05). During storage, acidity, ash, and microbial load were concomitantly increased, while fat, casein, total solids, and sugars showed a concurrent reduction as the storage period progressed. The panelists preferred the freshly prepared flavored laban drink compared with the stored one, which is not surprising. After 7 days of storage, flavored laban drink was more acceptable than a non-flavored one. The findings of this research will help in fortifying dairy products with dates to create highly nutritious drinks without the addition of artificial additives, refined sweeteners, and preservatives, which at the same time would be accepted by consumers.
Highlights
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a multipurpose and highly climate-tolerant plant whose cultivation and utilization has widely expanded all over the world
Three drink samples were prepared as follows: nonfortified laban drink that was considered as a negative control (NC), laban drink flavored with sugar solution and considered as a positive control (PC), and laban drink flavored with 12.5 g date syrup/100 g laban, 74 ◦Bx (DSL)
The results indicate that laban fortified with high levels of date syrup (12.5 and 15.0%) showed higher scores on all sensory attributes compared with those fortified with low levels of date dibs (Figure 1)
Summary
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a multipurpose and highly climate-tolerant plant whose cultivation and utilization has widely expanded all over the world. Most of the dairy products available in the markets contain several flavoring agents— namely, chocolate, caramel, coffee, vanilla, strawberry, and banana—and they contain refined sugars and preservatives [11,12,13] These products achieved high popularity in recent years as nutritious, tasty, and functional foods, and there is still increased demand for dairy products with improved nutritional and health quality attributes. In this regard, date dibs has been found to improve the nutritional, functional, microbial, and sensory quality attributes of whey beverage [14], probiotic ice cream [15], date juice milk drink [16], and flavored and probiotic yogurt [17,18]. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of date syrup (dibs) on the nutritional, microbial, and sensory quality attributes of laban (fermented milk) drink, as well as its shelf life during cold storage
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