Immature dates as a sustainable sugar substitute in functional confection: effects on product characteristics and shelf stability

Abstract BACKGROUND Date palm fruit substantially contributes to food waste by generating by‐products as second‐grade or prematurely fallen fruits. Therefore, this study investigates the capability of immature dates as a sustainable substitute for refined sugars in functional toffee. Immature dates were processed into soft dates and then into date paste for use in toffee formulations. Prepared soft dates were processed to paste for further utilization. RESULTS Our results revealed that replacing refined sugar with date paste significantly enhanced the nutritional and functional properties of the formulated toffees compared to the control (100% refined sugar). The incorporation of date paste led to a substantial increase in crude fiber (from 1.34% to 4.15%) and crude protein (from 0.86% to 1.92%). Mineral content also improved, with the highest concentration observed for potassium (335.44 mg 100 g −1 ), followed by calcium (90.49 mg 100 g −1 ), phosphorus (50.49 mg 100 g −1 ), copper (0.46 mg 100 g −1 ) and manganese (0.51 mg 100 g −1 ). These improvements were corroborated by Fourier transform infrared and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopic analyses. Date paste incorporation also reduced hardness (from 24.59 to 11.27 N) and intense color was observed in the toffees prepared with date paste. Among the different formulations, toffee with 50% substitution of granular sugar attained a higher overall acceptability (8.33), indicating that incorporation of date paste (50%) was desirable and hence was selected for shelf‐life evaluation. Shelf‐life evaluation revealed that toffees stored in butter paper and laminated foil maintained acceptable microbial and sensory properties for 3 months at ambient temperature. CONCLUSION The study highlights immature dates as a valuable, eco‐friendly raw material, offering a health‐conscious alternative to conventional sweeteners while helping reduce food waste. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.