Ready-to-eat mango and peanut bar as a value-added alternative for producers and market demand

• A mango bar, with dry fruits, was designed following market research on consumers preferences on quality attributes on these products. • Raw materials from local producers were used to develop value-added products that satisfied the needs of consumers and are another alternative for marketing the fruit. • Response surface methodology tools were used to optimize process conditions in the elaboration of the best bar of fruits ready-to-eat. • A stable bar was elaborated with quality features such as aw < 0.6, good firmness, phenolic compounds, and fiber in a ready-to-eat- presentation for the consumer. In the search for added value for mango and peanut production in the state of Sinaloa, México; as well as the fulfillment of market demand for nutritious, easy-to-handle, and sensorial attractive foods, a study was conducted to optimize the preparation of a mango bar with walnuts under different processing conditions and ingredient mixtures, using Ataulfo mango pulp as the base material. A three-component mixture design was applied: mango (74–88 %), peanut (7–20 %), and walnut (1–5 %), with extreme vertices and two process variables (temperature and time). An optimized mango bar with dehydrated fruit was made under conditions of 60 °C for 3 h and a mixture of 85.8, 8.7, 3.5, and 2 % mango, peanut, walnut, and almond, respectively. The mango bars showed good microbiological quality, a w values of <0.6, significant protein, dietary fiber, minerals, and carotenoid content of 19 µg/g. The dehydrated mango bar with dried fruits is a ready-to-eat and easy-to-handle food alternative.