Last modified: 2018-02-12
Abstract
Halva is a famous traditional dessert and is widely consumed in the Balkans, Middle East and even Northern Africa. There are different halva types (tahini halva, peanut halva, met halva, koz halva, etc.) depending on the ingredients, but the main type widely produced and consumed in Turkey is tahini halva. Tahini halva is mainly produced by mixing sesame seed paste (called tahini) and sugar syrup and also some nuts, cocoa powder and/or flavorings might be added. The main ingredients of tahini halva include tahini, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, citric acid and soapwort extract. The aim of the present study, the mineral composition of industrially produced plain tahini halva samples was investigated. For this purpose, plain tahini samples from 5 halva producers were collected and analyzed for their Ca, P, K, Na, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Co, Cd, Ni, Mn and Cr contents. It was found that there were differences among the samples in terms of Ca, P, K, Na, mostly due to the different ingredients used during halva processing. On the other hand, no Cd and Ni were detected in the analyzed samples. In the present study, it was found out that tahini halva contains substantial amounts of minerals required for proper human nutrition.