Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) peel powder as a dietary fibre source in multigrain crackers: physicochemical, textural and sensory evaluation

Can the outer rind of ash gourd, typically discarded during vegetable processing, be converted into a functional ingredient that raises the fibre content of baked snacks without compromising consumer appeal? This research set out to answer that question by preparing ash gourd peel powder (AGPP) through hot-air drying and hammer-milling, and then incorporating it into a multigrain cracker formulation at five substitution levels (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g/100 g flour basis). The multigrain base consisted of whole-wheat flour, oat flour and millet flour in a 50:30:20 ratio. Proximate composition, colour coordinates (CIE L*a*b*), water activity, dietary fibre, texture profile analysis, and sensory acceptability were measured on the finished crackers. Results showed that AGPP itself contained 48.3 g/100 g total dietary fibre, 6.71 g/100 g protein and 3.82 g/100 g ash on a dry-weight basis. Incorporation of AGPP at 10 g/100 g raised total dietary fibre of crackers from 2.14 to 6.83 g/100 g and reduced lightness (L*) from 68.4 to 57.9 while keeping water activity below 0.42. Breaking force increased from 28.7 N in the control to 34.9 N at 10% substitution. A nine-point hedonic evaluation with 52 untrained panellists ranked the 10% variant highest for overall acceptability (7.3 out of 9), with no statistically meaningful difference from the control for taste and aroma. Above 15% substitution, acceptability dropped because of a slightly gritty mouthfeel and darker appearance. The 10% AGPP cracker met the