Processing and Quality Evaluations of a Date-Strawberry Mixed Jam for Young Children

Nashi Alqahtan, Hattim Makki Makki, Hisham Mohamed, Dina Ali and Waleed Al-Senaien

Background and Objective: Date fruits in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are considered a staple food and play important role in the traditional and socioeconomic life of the Saudi population. Moreover, the fruits provide a wide range of essential nutrients, such as sugars, fibers, proteins and minerals. On the other hand, strawberry fruit is well known as a healthy and suitable food for young children, as it contains high concentrations of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants such as anthocyanin. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to produce a well-balanced jam with high quality and nutritional value for young children to improve their health and nutritional status, as inadequate intakes of minerals and vitamins were noticed among young children in the Kingdom and other Gulf countries. Materials and Methods: Date fruit was mixed as a main raw material with strawberry fruit to produce a nutritious and healthy jam. The jam product was subjected to physicochemical, color, chemical, nutritional, microbial, sensory and statistical evaluations. Results: The formulated date-strawberry jam partially meet the daily recommended intake of nutrients for young children. In addition, the quality characteristics of the product were found to be within the recommended specifications of jam products and were highly accepted by the panelists. Conclusion: The newly developed jam product could be of great help in reducing energy, mineral and vitamin deficiencies among young children, especially in the Kingdom and other Gulf countries.

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