TE PALM < OMAN A GRICULTURE
DATES: A Fruit of Promise for the Food Industry
Stefan Kasapis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Food Science & Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Sultan Qaboos University. He is the author of over fifty publications in reputable journals in Food and Biological Sciences.
Date production in the world is only confined to a small number of countries, most of them being the Arab countries. However, the date industry in the Arab world is not yet fully developed and concerted efforts are still needed to fully utilize the tremendous potential of date substances as ingredients in processed foods for export and the local market. Date pectin, dietary fibre and syrup are some of the date substances which can find a plethora of applications as a thickener or gelling agent in processed foods, i.e., confectionery products, jams, table jellies, soft cheeses, yoghurts, etc. But date products such as these should be developed on a sound technological basis which requires adequate characterisation of the chemical composition and textural properties of dates. The College of Agriculture, SQU, has implemented a thorough study on the structure-function relationships of date ingredients that yielded, for the fist time, the so-called 'state diagram' of the fruit. The article elaborates on the study and the benefits it could bring to the dates industry and the market for date-product.
موضوع: DATES 
19/8/2011, 02:34
