Nutritional probing and storage stability of papaya jam supplemented with date pit powder

Jam Quality is a factor robustly influenced by storage conditions. The current research aimed to develop papaya jam with improved nutritional attributes, rheological profile, and shelf-life utilizing date pit powder as a functional ingredient. The effect of date pit powder on the formulated product's physicochemical, microbial, and organoleptic properties was analyzed. Results revealed that overall mineral profile (0.35-1.11%), crude fiber (0.56-2.01%), pH (3.51-3.70%), and antioxidant properties (22.97-30.67%) were significantly increased while water activity reduced (0.77-0.73). Moreover, date pit powder improved the color scores like a*(10.10-10.67), b* (8.13-8.78), L* (25.56-28.09), and textural attributes (Cohesiveness: 0.83-0.90; Firmness: 6.82-6.93) of functional papaya jam. Microbial count reduced from 3.60 × 10⁵-3.06 × 10⁵ cfu/ml by adding date pit powder and staying within the acceptable limit (4.13 × 10⁵-3.60 × 10⁵ cfu/ml) during 2-month storage at refrigeration. Organoleptic evaluation depicted that samples treated with date pit powder scored better than the control, and a sample with 75% pectin replacement was considered best.