Date fruit is a highly nutritious food. It is a rich source in carbohydrates (70 – 80 %) comprising mainly of sugars and dietary fibers, making it one of the most nourishing natural foods available to the man. Date juice was found to be rich in reducing sugars (16.1%) and total sugars (18.3%).
Dates are also a good source of some vitamins (A, B1, B3, C) and macro-elements like phosphorus, iron, potassium and calcium. Date fruits are also rich in phenolics and flavonoid compounds.
Traditionally, in North Africa date fruit juice by soaking digested date in water overnight. This is followed by a quick boil in order to precipitate some of the colloidal matter therein. It is then filtered by means of baft or muslin cloth to give date juice.
Date juice enriched with pectin and lemon flavoring could be used to prepare firm jellies with higher adhesiveness, chewiness, and cohesiveness.
Dates juice
