Effect of steaming on textural properties of date paste (C.V. kabkab)

Ahvaz, Iran Orumiyeh, Iran Date paste as an important date products, has found many applications in food industry in recent years. After production color change and solidifying of the date paste and aggravation during maintenance are considered as the major problems facing the date paste processing factories. This research has carried out in order to overcome the solidification of date paste (Kabkab cultivar) in a full factorial experiment with three factors of: date paste preparation method (two levels of immersion in hot water or steaming), added oil (sesame and olive oil as a preservative) and three type of packaging (cellophane, nano silicone and multi-layered) in a split plot design with preparation method as the main plot. Textural properties including hardness, Young's modulus, shear modulus, and the penetration work done were measured at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months of storage using a texture analyser. The result confirms the positive effect of steaming for 10 minutes to maintain the softness paste during the test period. Date paste of firmness made from method of steaming and immersion in hot water is 0.02 N and 19 N respectively. The results confirmed positive effect of steaming for 10 minutes on date paste softening during storage at.