Prediction of the shelf-life of date seeds brew by integration of acceptability and quality indices

Nutritional probing and storage stability of papaya jam supplemented with date pit powder

Jam Quality is a factor robustly influenced by storage conditions. The current research aimed to develop papaya jam with improved nutritional attributes, rheological profile, and shelf-life utilizing date pit powder as a functional ingredient. The effect of date pit powder on the formulated product's physicochemical, microbial, and organoleptic properties was analyzed. Results revealed that overall mineral profile (0.35-1.11%), crude fiber (0.56-2.01%), pH (3.51-3.70%), and antioxidant properties (22.97-30.67%) were significantly increased while water activity reduced (0.77-0.73). Moreover, date pit powder improved the color scores like a*(10.10-10.67), b* (8.13-8.78), L* (25.56-28.09), and textural attributes (Cohesiveness: 0.83-0.90; Firmness: 6.82-6.93) of functional papaya jam. Microbial count reduced from 3.60 × 10⁵-3.06 × 10⁵ cfu/ml by adding date pit powder and staying within the acceptable limit (4.13 × 10⁵-3.60 × 10⁵ cfu/ml) during 2-month storage at refrigeration. Organoleptic evaluation depicted that samples treated with date pit powder scored better than the control, and a sample with 75% pectin replacement was considered best.

Optimization of the Frying Temperature and Time for Preparation of Healthy Falafel Using Air Frying Technology

Air-frying is an innovative technique for food frying that uses hot air circulation to prepare healthy products. The objectives of this study were to establish simplified models to reflect the efficacy of the air frying process at varying temperatures and times on the quality attributes of falafel, and to optimize the frying conditions for producing air-fried falafel. Moisture content, color, fat content, hardness, and sensory evaluation of the fried falafel were analyzed under varied temperatures (140 °C, 170 °C, and 200 °C) and time periods (5 min, 10 min, and 15 min). Statistical analysis was then applied to obtain the best fit model that can describe the properties of fried falafel. Results indicated that moisture content, fat content, and L*-value of air-fried falafel were adversely related to the frying temperature and time, but the hardness and ΔE of fried falafel were increased as the frying temperature and time increased. Moreover, an increase followed by a decrease was shown for the appearance, aroma, crispness, taste, and overall preference scores with the increase in frying temperature and time. The regression analysis showed that the proposed models could be properly used for predicting the properties of the fried falafel. In addition, the overlaid plots resulted in the optimum frying temperature of 178.8 °C and time of 11.1 min. Interestingly, the fat content of the air-fried falafel reduced by 45% at optimal frying conditions compared with that for the deep-fat fried one at 180 °C for 7 min (control). In comparison, the air-fried falafel was lower in fat content, higher in hardness with more acceptable appearance and crispness scores than deep-fat fried falafel. Such information could be beneficial to the manufacturers of the falafel to produce an optimal and healthy product.

Potential valorization of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) stones: Roasting and extraction of bioactive and volatile compounds

This study aimed to characterize the antioxidant potential, bioactive and volatile compounds of the stones from fruits of Cornus mas. Both fresh and roasted stones show a high antioxidant potential (166.48-509.74 μmol TE/g dw stones), which significantly depends on the cultivars. The roasted stones preserved 43.6% (DPPH; 'Raciborski') to 97.2% (FRAP; 'Alesha') of the antioxidant activity of the non-roasted stones. In the stones, two iridoids and ellagic acid were determined. During roasting, loganic acid remained stable, whereas cornuside was completely degraded. The analyses showed a 30-fold increase in the concentration of ellagic acid and in the formation of two of its derivatives. The major aroma compound of the roasted stones was furfural, but we also identified 18 pyrazine derivatives. This study is the first attempt to valorize Cornelian cherry stones via roasting. The roasted stones can be a coffee substitute, or aromatic and bioactive additions to cereal coffees.