PRODUCTION OF TAHINA SUBSTITUTE FROM FLAXSEED (Linum Usitatissimum)

Flax seed were cleaned, roasted and grinded in stone-mill to
obtain flax butter (tahina). The obtained flax tahina was subjected to
chemical analysis (chemical composition, physico-chemical
properties, fatty acids composition, amino acids profile, mineral
content) and organoleptic evaluation and compared with sesame
tahina. Results indicated that there was reasonable similarity in
proximate analysis of both flax and sesame tahina, except that flax
tahina was characterized with high fiber content, while sesame tahina
contained higher amount of oil. Fatty acids composition of both flax
and sesame tahina was almost the same, while the percentage of
lenolenic acid was higher in flax tahina than sesame tahina.
The protein of flax tahina was low in most essential amino acids.
The content of these amino acids may be affected by the heat
treatment (roasting). Analysis of minerals by Atomic absorption
indicated that sesame tahina contained amounts of Ca, Na, Cu, Mn
and Zn more than that found in flax tahina. The organoleptic
evaluation of flax tahina indicated that the product characterized with
acceptable taste, odor, color and texture and could be consumed
directly as salad dressing. Generally the chemical and organoleptic
evaluation of flax tahina indicated that the possibility of using this
product directly as a salad or halawa tahinia production.