| Abstrakt: |
This study investigates the impact of the hydration process on the softening, desirability, and quality of Deiri dates under the influence of ultrasound waves. The experimental setup included two ultrasound application conditions (with ultrasound and without ultrasound), five water temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 degrees Celsius), and five soaking durations (40, 55, 70, 85, and 100 minutes). The qualitative parameters examined were moisture content, color indices L, a, b, ∆E, total sugar, and reduced sugar. Textural characteristics such as firmness, chewability, gumminess, and springiness were also evaluated. The response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design (CCD) was employed for data analysis using the Design Expert 10 software.The results demonstrated that the proposed regression models were significant in determining the effects of hydration on moisture content, reduced sugar, total sugar, color indices L and ∆E, firmness, chewability, cohesiveness, and springiness of the treated samples. Specifically, the moisture content and reduced sugar of samples treated with ultrasonic hydration were 7.47% and 1.34 times higher, respectively, compared to those treated without ultrasound, indicating a pronounced effect of ultrasound. However, the color indices a and b were not significant at the 0.05 level. Optimization results indicated that the optimal conditions for the hydration process of Deiri date fruits involved a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and a duration of 85 minutes with the application of ultrasound. While ultrasound had a significant effect on several traits, its economic justification must also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
