Date syrup: Effect of hydrolytic enzymes (pectinase/cellulase) on physico-chemical characteristics, sensory and functional properties

This work is a contribution to give value addition to second grade dates (with hard texture) by the production of enzymatically treated syrup with high commercial value. It was observed that the pulp:water at ratio 1:3 treated with 50 U of pectinase and 5 U of cellulase during 120 min at 50 °C gave the highest recovery of total soluble solids (72.37 g of total soluble solids/100 g fresh basis) and the lower turbidity (186.45 NTU) compared with control without enzyme addition (Total soluble solids yields: 66.34 g of total soluble solids/100 g fresh basis and turbidity: 1513 NTU). physico-chemical measurements indicated that carbohydrates were predominant in all date varieties as well as their syrups (∼69.59–83.76 g/100 g dry matter in dates and ∼62.14–74.68 g/100 g fresh weight in syrup). Allig variety was characterised by a high content of reducing sugars content (∼77.91 g/100 g dry matter), contrary to Deglet Nour (∼23.17 g/100 g dry matter) and Kentichi (∼21.3 g/100 g dry matter). The CIE L∗ a∗ b∗ colour values of the enzyme-treated date syrup of Deglet Nour, Allig and Kentichi variety showed lighter colours (L∗ values ranging from 24.16 to 44) than the control without enzyme (L∗ values ranging from 0.545 to 17.2). Hedonic evaluation showed that enzyme-treated date syrup was more appreciated by consumers. Microbiological study showed that date syrups were free from aerobes, moulds, coliforms and enterobacteriaceae and were microbiologically stable during five months storage. Results suggested that enzymatic treatment could be used for production of date syrup with high commercial value