TEXTURAL PROPERTIES OF DATE PASTES AS INFLUENCED BY DATE CULTIVAR

Textural properties including firmness (hardness), cohesiveness, adhesiveness, chewiness, elasticity and resilience, were determined for pastes of eight selected Saudi date cultivars, namely Barhi, Khudari, Khlass, Serri, Sukkari, Suffri, Saqie, and NubotSaif. The hardness values for the pastes of dates varied from 394.65 N (Suffri) to 38.04 N (Khalas). The cohesiveness values ranged from 0.69 (khalas) to 0.33 (Suffri). The adhesiveness values varied from 181.48 (NubotSaif) to 29.93 (Khalas). The chewiness values varied from 92.82 (Suffri) to 20.58 (Khalas). The elasticity values varied from 1.0 (Barhi) to 0.69(Suffri). The resilience Values varied from 0.15 (Nubot Saif) to 0.07 (Sukkari).