Production and characterization of palm date powder rich in dietary fiber

In recent years, interest in food wastes has been internationally increased to produce added-value products. The main objective of this study was to utilize the press cake as a by-product from the palm date syrup production process and prepare powder rich in fiber (PRF) as a high added value product. PRF samples were prepared from the press cake of three palm date cultivars (Sifri, Selag and Manify). Soluble solids in the press cakes were further extracted using potable water. Essential production requirements and powder specifications at different particles size were determined. The production yield was 8% and required 51–76 L/kg PRF of water for extraction and 30–35 kJ/kg PRF for grinding energy. The produced PRF contained 74.9–80.5% of total dietary fiber. Bulk and tapped densities of PRF were increased with the decrease of particle size except for PRF with very fine particle size. Compressibility index and Hausner ratio were increased as the particle size of PRF of the various cultivars was decreased. The ranges of water and oil holding capacities of PRF were 2.9–6.03 and 8.8–11.2 g/g dry matter, respectively. The physicochemical properties indicate that PRF from date by-product are rich in fiber and may be considered a potential ingredient in a healthy diet.