Abstract
Date is an important fruit of Pakistan. Good quality dates are consumed as such. On the other hand, second quality dates are virtually wasted. In this study, an effort was made to utilize inferior grade dates in preparation of vitamin C fortified syrup. For this purpose, sugar was extracted by cooking the dates with water and then concentrated to 700 Brix under vacuum in the presence of some clarifying agents. After adding vitamin C, the date syrup was hot filled into bottles, scaled with crown corks and stored at ambient temperature for three months. Freshly prepared date syrup contained 70% total soluble solids, 5.35 to 6.62 pH, 2.16 to 2.27% ash and 64 to 67 mg ascorbic acid. A substantial loss of ascorbic acid, a slight decrease in pH with a non-significant change in total soluble solids and ash in date syrup during storage was noticed. Organoleptically, the products compared well with pure honey and apple jam on breakfast bread toasts. It was concluded that inferior grade dates could be converted successfully into date syrup rich in vitamin C with a good storage stability
